


Roses

by montanaism



Category: GOT7
Genre: F/M, JB is a dick, M/M, and i just like red velvet so i mixed them in, but we all love him anyways, i watched beauty and the beast and then i wrote, more ugly personality, no furniture or actual beast JB, plus also this is very loosely based
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:42:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/montanaism/pseuds/montanaism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Yugyeom has a run in with the rich guy who no one sees, Jinyoung exchanges himself as prisoner. Jaebum is intrigued. </p><p>Based loosely on Beauty and the Beast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UH so yeah this my first work posted here, and this started off as impulse writing after watching disney's Beauty and the Beast with my good friend chelsea. Nice. And i just really like red velvet so please just bear with me the Jackson/Wendy because I'm basing their entire relationship over the fact they are both energetic and generally happy people and they both speak english (deep). here goes!

“I see you’re back again.”

Jinyoungs mouth curled into a smile, his eyes wrinkling up. He looked up from the shelf he was crouched by to the shopkeeper, Mr. Park, who had a stack of books in his hand. He was chuckling softly.

“I finished the book I got yesterday. Here for another one.”

“Already?” The shopkeeper chuckled and started putting the books away with one hand, “You read so fast.”

Jinyoung hurried and took the stack from his hands, holding them for him. Mr. Park smiled, and thanked him with a nod, continuing “I used to be able to read as fast as you when I was younger.”

“We do share the same name. Maybe we’re related somehow.” Jinyoung mused as he watched him put the books back in their respective places. The shopkeeper nodded and shrugged.

“Maybe! The world works in mysterious ways.” He took the last book from Jinyoung and placed it back, patting it as he did so. He turned to him, “Now, would you like the see the new arrivals?’

The young man’s face lit up and followed the older to the front.

Jinyoung left the store with a heavier bag and a happier heart. He knew he was going to finish the small collection he attained within a week, but he didn’t mind. He lived for stories. He liked reading nonfiction also, but he couldn’t invest emotionally as he could with stories of valiant hero’s and rogues. He laughed at himself a lot, knowing he was a hopeless romantic, but he had no inclination to stop. 

He walked back to his small house on the edge of the small town, his eyes gazing at the blooming flowers, bringing promises of spring after the harsh winter they had. It had really taken a toll on him and his brother Yugyeom. He did what he could, writing essays for the wealthy students and the university for a fee which paid for him to get simple ingredients, while his brother met him halfway, hunting until the edge of dawn. He sometimes only managed to bring home a rabbit after twelve hours of hunting, worrying Jinyoung with the long hours he put in. Jinyoung hated when he did that. They could live on leftover bread, the last thing he needed was him getting sick or hurt out in the wild.

Yugyeom was their fathers son. Jinyoung was his mothers. It hurt like nothing else when they passed, and Jinyoung was left to care for themselves, leaving all his dreams of becoming a storyteller to writing for the kids who looked down on his kind, but used his skills for an easy A. He felt awful doing it, honestly. 

Luckily, with all the snow melting and the school year ending, he wouldn’t have to tend to the rich kids after a couple weeks, and he could take up gardening again. Yugyeom would have much more to hunt with all the animals coming out of hibernation too. Jinyoung hummed happily at the thought of this, smiling slightly as their cottage came into view.

Returning home was always a ritual. After returning from the university, he would enter, give a shout that he was home, put his shoes and messenger bag in their respective places, and head to the kitchen to start dinner on whatever Yugyeom was able to catch, which was skinned and laid out before he got home. 

Only this time, there was no sign of Yugyeom. Anywhere.

He was usually positioned in front of the fireplace at this time, tired and drained from the hunt all day, in the kitchen, rifling through their supply of potatoes, or in the back of the house with Philipe, the horse. He checked all three spots, and everything was exactly as he had left it when he had departed that morning. He was a little alarmed, because Yugyeom would have told him beforehand, or left a note on the door if he was going to be late. Usually he was fooling around with the merchant boy, Bambam, down in the market, but he had passed his stall and Bambam was alone, giving him a smile and a wave.

Nervously, Jinyoung sat down at his desk and began to organize his papers and books. He figured he was just running late. Yugyeom was smart, but he wasn’t perfect. This was probably a misunderstanding. Maybe the wind had knocked off the note. Maybe Philipe was acting up and making him late.

Maybe Jinyoung was acting too much like a overprotective mother Yugyeom continuously liked to tease him about. Shaking his head, he gave out a small grunt to shake off the uneasiness he felt.

He took a deep breath and one last look at the door, before turning to his desk, working on the last few essays that he was assigned. 

About half an hour later, he heard hooves approaching the house. He immediately stood up, relief washing over him, only to be replaced by annoyance, and he stalked outside preparing a small lecture in his head for his younger brother. 

Only it was Philipe. Just Philipe.

He looked around quickly, calling out Yugyeoms name before approaching the obviously spooked horse, panic rising in this throat. 

He held out his arms and stroked the neck of the animal, murmuring soothing words he has heard Yugyeom murmur numerous times. He scanned the horse, the saddle skewered off to the side, and his blood curdling at the sight of something red snagged on the straps.

A single riding glove. The very pair that he had gifted his brother two Christmases ago when he noticed the calluses and redness of his hands when he came home every night. He had wanted him to take care of his hands more carefully, knowing how harsh the winters get.

He gripped the riding glove in his hand and took a deep breath, and then ran inside. Gathering his riding gear and warm clothes, extra for his brother, just in case, he ran back outside. Mounting the horse as best he could and climbing on, he realized hadn’t ridden in years, as his brother was the prominent rider in the household. Self taught and proud of it. He was constantly teasing Jinyoung, who always had to ride behind him, sidesaddle, because he found it more comfortable. 

Now Jinyoung rode with determination, down the path he knew Yugyeom took every morning, looking for signs of him, anything. It was getting dark out, and Jinyoung swore, regretting leaving too quickly to grab a latern, but was thankful at least the moon was bright enough to light his path without much trouble. 

He rode for what seemed like hours, along the path, crying his name when he thought he spotted or heard something. The cold was biting now. He couldn’t feel his fingers and his eyes welled up with tears every time the wind assaulted him. He was far away from home now. He knew the way back, but he didn’t want to turn around. 

“Yugyeom.” He whispered, the horse slowing down and his eye’s stinging, not from the wind this time. He swallowed thickly and let the hot stream of tears lick his face. He had no idea what to do. He could keep looking until he froze to death. He could go back, and go find people to help him look in the morning. He could blackmail one of the rich students, threatening them with exposure of their fraudulent thesis’s and projects in exchange for a search party. 

His mind raced with possibilities, and the horse paused. He blinked the tears away and looked at where the horse was pawing at the ground. A flash of red.

His breath caught and he ambled off the horse, careful not to let him run off, and reached for the red fabric, nearly hidden among the leaves from the wind. 

A red riding glove. 

Jinyoung’s heart sped up, and he looked around. In his teary haze he hadn’t noticed that there was a cobblestone path forked in the dirt road, leading deep into the darker, swampier part of the forest. 

He didn’t know what prompted him, but his gut lurched, and he stepped forward.

He didn’t bother getting back on the horse. His thighs hurt from riding, and his legs were shaky, but he forced himself to lead the horse down the path, on foot in front of the other.

It was a long path. He had just started to question his decision to follow the path when he peered forward and spotted the flicker of a light. 

His pace sped up for a moment before he decided to board the horse again. Ignoring the ache of his muscles, he urged the horse up to a trot until he was present at a pari of large, iron gates with two lights at the top. 

They were pushed open, just enough for a body. 

He jumped off again, shaking, whether from the cold or anticipation, and pushed them aside enough for his horse to enter. Going through, he looked up the upcoming path to a huge, daunting house. 

The night made it seem intimidating, almost scary, but the moonlight that reflected off the windows made it seem ethereal. 

He swore he didn’t hear any sounds of the wind, or of any other night noises. But he focused on his breathing and the sounds of the horses hooves on the stone.

He dismounted the horse at the end of the path, tying him off at a post, and walked towards the big, oak doors that led into the mansion. 

“Hello?” He called out. He pounded on the door thrice, “Yugyeom, are you in there?”

He pounded more, and jumped back in surprise when it cracked open. There was silence, and he stepped forward, peering through the crack in the door, before it promptly slammed in his face again. 

This angered him. He pounded on the door again, “HEY!” He shouted, “WHERE’S MY BROTHER?”

He continued yelling his demands for them to open, and paused when he heard hushed yelling from behind the door and the shuffling of feet. 

A voice came from inside, “There’s no one home-“ And choking sounds.

“We don’t want to buy anything. The master is out.” Came another, huskier voice.

“I’m here for my brother. I think he might have passed through here.” Jinyoung pressed up against the door, feeling clingy to the very possibility of seeing his brother, “Please, help me.” He said, no longer shouting. He felt desperate.

There was a soft murmur from behind, and Jinyoung felt the door give out under him and opened a tiny crack again.

He peered into the opening, and was surprised to meet a pair of warm, brown eyes.

“You’re here for who?”

He brought himself closer to the opening, “My brother. He’s taller than me, he’s got dark brown hair and eye’s like mine. He would have been wearing a green vest-“

“Is he talking about the kid with the bad attitude and the mushroom hair?” Another voice that wasn’t the brown eyes said, with the same husky voice.

Jinyoung’s heart leapt and he pressed against the door, “YES! That sounds exactly like him, have you-“

“Shit, Youngjae, he knows him, what do we tell-“

Jinyoung rammed against the door, “He’s in there! I know it! Let me see him-“

A strangled yell and the door pressed back against Jinyoung, and there was a little play of push and pull for a few seconds, before Jinyoung gave up and stepped back.

“Please, I’ve been searching all night, you have to let me see him, I’ll do anything to do to get him back. What has he done?”

“Besides having no filter? Nothing really.” The softer voice came. There was a smack and a shush, before the door opened once more and a pair of harsher brown eyes took it’s place.

“What’s your name?”

“Jinyoung.”

The eyes looked at him up and down, seeming to rake him appearance though and through.

The door closed, and there were excited whispers behind it. 

Jinyoung felt defeated. He had no idea what trouble Yugyeom had gotten into. His head ran through every solution to find money, or some kind of compensation for whatever, he assumed, he broke. He just hoped whatever it was, it was fixable. 

The door opened again, this time wider, to reveal two men on the other side. They were both the same height as him, except one was blonde, and much more muscular. The other slightly frailer, and his hair was a light brown, his eyes wide and hiding behind the other. They were both dressed like servants, though one looked more like a butler, and the other looked more like a kitchen boy. 

The two stared at him, and Jinyoung stared back, and after a few moments broke the silence by coughing a bit. 

That seemed to break their trance, and the one who was more built came forward and grabbed his arm, dragging him into the mansion and closing the door behind him. 

“Come with us.” He muttered, leading him deeper into the house.

They dragged him through a series of hallways, so many that Jinyoung felt himself losing track of which way they came from. 

“Where’s my brother? What happened to him?” Jinyoung asked, questioning the two men, but never receiving a reply, “Can you please tell me where you’re taking me? What is this place?”

“Can you be quiet? It’s nighttime you know, most people are sleeping.” The blonde one remarked, annoyance tinting his words.

Jinyoung stopped in his trance, digging his feet into the carpet as he tried to keep him moving, “I’m not shutting up until you tell me what the hell is going on. Who are you?” 

The blonde let out a frustrated sigh, and ran his hands through his hair in agitation, “Fine. Your brother got in trouble with our master, so now he’s in time out. I’m just a servant. Now I’m taking you to your brother, so you guys can talk it out or whatever. Now shut up before we all get in trouble.” 

With that, he tugged him forward, and Jinyoung had no choice but to comply, falling silent. It wasn’t much further until they were walking down some stairs, and the air got significantly cooler than the rest of the house. 

“Are we in a cellar?” Jinyoung inquired urgently, “It’s freezing down here-“

“Jinyoung?”

Jinyoung’s words died in his throat as he looked at the doors at the end of the hallway, the familiar voice echoing off the walls. He quickly broke free from the grasps of the two servants and ran to the door. The small barred window was only slightly illuminated by the moonlight that was spilling through a tiny window in the corridor.

“Yugyeom, oh my god, Yugyeom are you alright?” Jinyoung dropped to his knees and reached through the bars to grab his hand, nearly jumping at his temperature, “Yugyeom, you’re frozen, oh god-“

“Jinyoung I’m so sorry-“

Jinyoung wasn’t hearing him, instead he twisted around, his eyes glassy with fury as he lost his temper, “Why the fuck would you do this to a kid?!” He hissed, “What the fuck could he have done for you to lock him up like this?”

The smaller one, Youngjae, shrunk back behind the other one, his eyes wide as he looked from Jinyoung to his companion, who was looking at him with a steely gaze, his brow furrowed as he took in Jinyoungs words. He shrugged off Youngjae’s arm and took a deep breath, but Jinyoung turned back to Yugyeom before he could say anything.

“Did they give you anything to cover up with? Jesus christ Yugyeom, we have to get you home, what happened?” He grasped his brothers hand tightly, as if the grip could warm up his entire body. 

Yugyeom was shaking his head, “I messed up, I said some stupid shit and they threw me in here. Oh we have to get out of here before the owner of this place finds out you're here—“

“Why are you guys still standing there?” Jinyoung snapped, not even looking behind him, “Get this god damned door open and get him out!”

There was a pause, and Jinyoung almost turned around to bite their heads off some more, but the response he got stilled him. The voice that drifted through the dark corridor was unfamiliar, deep, and cold, and a shiver slipped up Jinyoungs spine as they spoke.

“Who gave you permission to speak to my staff like that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there will be some mature chapters that i got planned up my sleeve (heh) and more characters will be introduced as i go along. I'm not sure if ill make it a slow burn, as I'm not entirely sure what the definition is, so i can't say (maybe the slow burn is me ending up leaving this story) (who said that?) (u bich) (fuk off). but yes, please let me know how you ppl are liking it, so far, yes? no? thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of his voice resonated throughout the hard architecture of the corridor. Jinyoung held his breath from how silent it was after he spoke, and he didn’t turn around, only moving his eyes to scan Yugyeom’s face. His eyes had turned cold, and he saw some of the colour draining from his face as he peered back. His hand squeezed his to the point where it started to hurt, and Jinyoung looked behind him.

Who he saw was easily the handsomest man he had ever seen. 

His eyes trailed from his expensive looking shoes and slowly up, taking in his legs, his broad shoulders, his hands and finally his face. The intimidating stare he got back from him nearly stopped the air in his throat, freezing for a few moments, not knowing what else to do. His cold stare matched his voice, and his dark, narrow eyes held him in place, his clenched jaw showing his anger. 

Jinyoung’s mouth was dry when Yugyeoms hand shook as a chill ran through his brother. He snapped out of it and felt anger bubble up once more as he remembered how close to hypothermia he was, and he stood up abruptly.

“Tell your servants to unlock my brother. Now.”

The man narrowed his eyes, and Jinyoung glanced down at his clenched fist. The two servants backed away a couple of steps. The mans chin tilted down a bit.

“Who told you you can speak to me like that?”

Jinyoung widened his eyes. Was this man serious? Who- “Who are you?” He hissed, “Who are you to lock up my brother? He’s only seventeen, he’s barely an adult, and he’s going to die if he gets kept in here-“

“He’s in here because he disrespected my name by showing up unannounced and trespassing on my property. Just like you did.”

Jinyoung almost scoffed. Pride is an infectious sin, he thought, “I assure you he meant no harm. Now let him go—”

“How will he pay for what he has done then?” The man stare was unwavering, and it set Jinyoung off with how evenly he spoke, even if his body language contrasted his voice. He glanced at his jawline. Ouch.

Lowering his gaze, Jinyoung counted his breath three times. Nice and even, he whispered in his head, and he met his eyes again, “I’ll do whatever it takes, just let him go.” 

“Whatever it takes?”

The man said slowly, and it in a weird tone, and Jinyoung noticed his hand and jaw slowly unclench. Jinyoung felt a little calmer knowing the man wasn't on the verge of snapping at him anymore, and so he relaxed a bit. “Yes.” He said hesitantly. He wasn’t sure what he or the man meant by this agreement, but he was willing to sacrifice for his brother.

The man seemed to take him in, scanning him from head to toe, and his eyes changed. Jinyoung would have guess amused if his voice didn’t differ from his body language so much.

“Alright.” He said slowly, as if Jinyoung sparked his interest, “You take his place.”

Jinyoung stilled, his words taking a moment to sink in. Then his anger spiked. This man didn’t want compensation. He wanted a prisoner. It was like he wanted a person behind bars for whatever offended him. He wanted someone to suffer. He wanted Jinyoung to replace his brother. If he didn’t, Yugyeom would…

Upon thinking this he took a deep breath, swearing inwardly as he shuddered a bit as he did, and clenched his brothers hand. He couldn’t let Yugyeom stay in here.

His brother responded to the touch with a soft and tear ridden, “No, Jinyoung-“ And Jinyoung turned around.

“Go back to the village, and run as fast as you can-“

“Jinyoung no, please don’t-“ He rushed out, his eyes dangerously glassy and wide, “You’ll get sick, you’re smaller than me-“

“Do as I say, Yugyeom.” Jinyoung hissed, his words sharp, but quiet, “We don’t have anything else to make up for this. Who knows what he can do— I need you to be safe.”

“I’m so sorry Jinyoung—“

“Open the doors.” The mans voice rang out loud over their hushed tones, and Jinyoung felt Yugyeoms hands shaking in his as his head shook no, babbling on to Jinyoung but he barely could register what he was saying, thinking only that he was going to spend the last of his days in this cell.

The bolder of the two servants stepped forwards and pushed Jinyoung back, unlocking the door and hauling Yugyeom out, who was now full on crying. Yugyeom broke free of his grasp and held onto Jinyoung, blubbering something about how he’s going to come back for him and fight for him but Jinyoung silenced him with a glare.

“Just shut up and go.” Jinyoung said in a shockingly even voice as he looked into Yugyeoms bloodshot eyes, “The horse is outside. Just go home. I’ll be fine.”

Yugyeom looked at him, at loss for words, and the butler started taking him away. Yugyeom just stared back at Jinyoung as the other servant led him into the cell, before dragging his eyes to the man staring intently at him. Yugyeoms face screwed up in anger and he snarled.

“Don’t fucking touch my brother you fucking bastard.” 

The mans eyes tore from Jinyoung and snapped to Yugyeom, and he showed no emotion as he uttered, “Get him out of here.”

Jinyoung turns around in the cell to look through the small barred window, and he felt his gut twist as he watched Yugyeom being led away, looking back at him with a helpless look, “I love you Jinyoung.” He said.

“I love you too, Yugyeom.” Jinyoung whispered. He tore his eyes away and glanced at the others.

The man was now looking at him again, with that harsh stare that made him back away from the window when he met it. Yugyeom was gone now, up the stairs, probably headed right for the horse to take him back to town. He wondered if he would wait until morning to try to come get him, or if he would stay back and plan. Jinyoung would do the latter. Maybe Yugyeom would too.

Taking in the stone walls and the flimsy cot and chair off to the side, it slowly dawned on him that this would be his home for the indefinite future. At least until the master of the house takes pity on him and lets him go. Remembering his cold stare, Jinyoung shivered.

At the thought of the person on the other side of the door, Jinyoung’s eyes trailed the ground until he expected to meet that same intense stare, but saw the man was talking quietly to the other servant who left behind. 

The kitchen boy looked sullen, and looked at the floor as he nodded every once and a while at the mans hushed words, and after a few moments left to follow the trail of his brother. Jinyoung stared at his retreating back and tore his eyes away when he saw the stranger look back at him. This time his gaze wasn't as harsh, and his jaw became softer. He met Jinyoungs eyes and approached the doors slowly, but he didn’t back away, he only met his look with what he hoped was a steady gaze and placed his hand softly on the wooden edge of the window.

“What’s your name?” His voice rang out rougher than he would have liked, and the question wavered at the end. He cleared his throat, his eyes flickering away for a second nervously.

The mans eyes were dark, almost black, Jinyoung noticed when he was closer, and he had two moles above his eye. He had very sharp features. In the dull lighting his skin almost glowed, and Jinyoung kept his eyes from staring too much by looking at the wall past his face.

The man suddenly got closer, and lifted a hand to grasp a bar. Jinyoung snatched his hand back, but didn’t retreat. As scared as he was right now, he did not want to look weak. His heart pounded right through his head and he had to focus on levelling his breathing as the master of the house searched his face.

“You can call me Lord Im.” He said after a moment.

Jinyoung swallowed, “How long do I have to stay in here?”

Lord Im’s mouth twitched, “However long it takes.”

“How long will that be?”

“Who knows.”

“What did my brother do?”

At this question Lord Im’s eyes went a little blank, a little cold. “He disrespected my name.”

“How? It couldn’t have been that bad-“

“I won’t tolerate-“

“How is locking up a seventeen year old equivalent to your wounded ego?”

Lord Im stared at him in silence, before closing his eyes and letting out a short chuckle. His eyes bored into Jinyoungs, when he stopped, “What’s your name?” It came out like he found something funny about his situation. Jinyoung felt like he was in a trap and his anger flared up. 

“Park Jinyoung.” He said tersely after a moment of hesitation.

Lord Im looked at him for another moment before turning around and heading for the door. Jinyoung was shook, and he gripped the bars, “Hey! Where are you going?” He shouted after him, shaking the door, “How long do I have to stay in here?”

“Until you learn some manners.” The man said, not even looking back.

Jinyoung felt his mouth go dry as the door slammed shut, and the room got dark. It was still the middle of the night, and the chill was not going anywhere anytime soon. He took a shuddering breath and went to sit down on his cot, eventually laying down as the sounds of water dripping and the wind lulled him into a dead sleep.

 

He dreamt of the forest and dead leaves. The wind and a heartbeat. His own breathing and someone else’s. Lights all along the path and papers scattered across it. A dead rabbit. A hungry wolf. The cold. Blue.

And then warmth. 

He woke up with a start, dry sobs making it hard to breathe. His hands were gripping a thick blanket that had been thrown over him haphazardly, half of it on the cold wet ground. He sat up slowly, wincing at the way his neck was kinked from sleeping on a hard surface all night as he looked around.

He was still in the cell. That dream held true. He slowly got up and pushed the blanket off of him, careful not to throw it on the ground lest it get more soaked. He walked to the doorway and peered through, and immediately noticed the way the light filtered in through the small window at the end of the corridor. He had no idea what time it was, he couldn’t remember what way he was facing. He still felt exhausted, however, and his heart was still beating erratically from the dream. 

He only really remembered the atmosphere and the fear that gripped him in the dream, but he didn’t want to dwell on it long. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to fall asleep again. He didn’t see much else to do int he cell but that, scanning the hay in the corner, presumably a makeshift toilet, and a chair facing the back corner. The hay didn’t smell of excrements, so the only smell dominant in the cell was the mildew from moisture and vacancy.

Walking back over to the cot and laying over the blanket, trying to provide some comfort to the uncomfortableness of his neck. He closed his eyes and replayed the scene from last night. He found his brother. He freed his brother. He became a captive. He met Lord Im.

Everything was blurred by the anger he had felt during that time, and groaned thinking about it, rolling over and facing the wall. He had no idea what to do. He figured he could just give up and lay there for the rest of his life. Wait until Yugyeom tries to come get him. Start keeping track of his days of imprisonment by scratching lines into the wall. Counting the hay. Scream.

He opted for the last one after a moment, letting his frustrations out as he let out a loud and frustrated scream. Every time Yugyeom messed up, it had never been this bad. Then again, when he had messed up it had never been with rich lords with no sense of human decency. He rolled over and faced the wall again, wondering if he should fall asleep again. Then the sound of the door opening echoed of the hard architecture of the room.

He heard hurried footsteps and laboured breathing, and suddenly someone was fumbling with the lock on the door. A crash of something made of metal and glass hitting the floor. Jinyoung shot up and jumped off the bed as the door swung open. 

It was the kitchen boy from last night, and the relief that washed over Jinyoung was unexpected as he stared at the person, who was startled when he looked at him. 

“J-Jinyoung, are you alright?” He said, hand still on the door, raking his eyes over him, “I heard you scream, are you hurt?”

Jinyoung was surprised. He thought everyone had forgotten about him and had left him there to die. He slowly shook his head, and for some reason, he felt embarrassed. He was just being dramatic, he didn’t mean to upset anyone by his yelling. He quickly justified it in his head that he had a right to be dramatic, but was still shook by the way the boy looked at him in concern.

The boy visibly relaxed when he shook his head, then looked behind him quickly, disappointment framing his features, “I’m so sorry Jinyoung, I was bringing you your breakfast and I dropped it while I was trying to open the door. I’m going to have to get you a new one.” He apologized quickly and didn’t look at him, kneeling down to clean up the mess he made with the eggs and sausage he dropped, and Jinyoung felt weird. Why was he getting breakfast if he was a prisoner here?

When he opened his mouth to ask, the servant looked up at him, “Did you get cold last night?”

His mouth was still open and then she shut it again, looking back at the blanket that lied on his cot and back to the boy. He shook his head, and then pointed at it slowly, “Did you… Cover me with that?”

Standing back up, the boy nodded, “Yes. Lord Im first told me to prepare you a room, but after he came back up and changed his mind, Mark suggested to bring you a blanket because it gets super cold down here.” He picked up the tray of broken glass and food, and moved to close the door again, “Anyway, I have to get you another tray, so sorry about that-“

“Wait-“ Jinyoung moved forward quickly, stopping the door from being shut. He boy looked alarmed, and almost scared, but Jinyoung stopped at the crack, looking through to him, “If I’m a prisoner, why am I getting this treatment? I shouldn’t be getting food and a blanket— and you said he was going to give me a room? What’s that about?” 

The boy looked actually shocked, before stuttering out, “Y-You’re not a prisoner.”

That information struck Jinyoung. He was confused. It must’ve shown on his face because the boy was quick to continue, “I mean, yeah you can’t leave, and you did spend the night in a cell, but this wasn’t the official intended treatment from the master.” He paused and looked behind him, then back, continuing in a soft voice, “You see, Lord Im has a temper, and he doesn’t like being disrespected. You’re brother insulted something dear to him, and even if it was an accident that meant no harm, Lord Im reacted in a way that ended in your brother staying in this cell for most of the night. I don’t think you’ll be staying in here for much longer, however, because a few of us were still ordered to make your room up.” He adjusted his grip on the tray and went to close the door again, “Just stay put here until someone comes and get you. It might be Seulgi or Yeri.”

Jinyoung stepped back and let the door close, and stepped forward again quickly, “Wait” He said quickly, just as he turned to leave.

The boy stopped and turned around, head tilted, “Is there something else?”

“What’s your name?”

The boy blinked and paused, before he smiled and laughed. He his was thrown back and he stumbled a bit, and it was loud, and very joyful. Jinyoung couldn’t help the smile that graced his features as he watched him try to control his laughter, a hand coming up to wipe at his watery eye.

“I’m sorry, I’m so careless.” He gasped, “I can’t believe I forgot.” And he looked at him with a warm smile, still a bit out of breath, “My name is Youngjae.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaay, i got this chapter out in like about a week of originally posting. so officially youngjae has been introduced. fun. there was actually more to this chapter that i had written but i decided to save it for the next chapter. so who knows, it might come out sooner. thanks for your support everyone! I'm glad people are liking this.


	3. Chapter 3

Youngjae entered the kitchen and sorrowfully put the chipped plates and soiled food onto the counter, separating them to be put into the compost or the trash. 

“What happened?” 

Youngjae nearly jumped into the air at the sudden voice, whipping around and scowling at the young girl, “Yeri, don’t sneak up on me like that?”

Yeri giggled and bowed her head a bit, “I’m sorry Youngjae. But what happened? Did you fall? You’re not hurt are you?”

“No, I’m not hurt, I just—“

“Oh good. Mark would be so angry if you were.”

Youngjae pouted again and turned around, “What does Mark have to do with anything?” He complained loudly, throwing the sausage into the compost bin with a little too much force.

Yeri rolled her eyes and went back to peel the vegetables she was handling, “Nothing, I guess. Just wish you would be more careful.” She muttered. “Last time you cut yourself Mark yelled at me for breathing on the tulips he was so on edge.”

Youngjae focused on fixing the plates and ignored her. He didn’t need to know this. Mark shouldn’t be on his mind like this. 

Though Mark wasn’t able to even step foot in his mind before the kitchen door swung open, and a very disgruntled Wendy came through the door.

“Has anyone seen the washboard for smaller items? I can’t find it and the master ordered there be fresh hand towels for the new room” she claimed, rushing towards the further closet and rummaging through it.

Yeri stopped what she was doing and ran to help her, and Youngjae just complained loudly about the commotion. 

At the exact moment Wendy yelled in joy as she pulled out the washboard, Jackson entered the kitchen and nearly dropped the silverware he was holding.

“Jesus christ Wendy-“ He exclaimed, whirring around to face her, “You nearly killed me- are you okay?”

Wendy looked at him with surprised eyes, closing her open mouth and nodding sheepishly. She quickly clutched the washer and hurried out, brushing past him with her eyes on the ground.

Jackson watched her go out for a second before looking back at Youngjae, who was looking at him with a shit eating grin. Jackson threw his dirty towel from his shoulder at him, “What are you looking at? Get to work.”

Yeri let out a giggle, but Jackson side eyed her so she pressed her lips together to keep from smiling and went back to peeling carrots. Youngjae just laughed. Jackson walked over to the cupboards and started filing away the breakfast cutlery, “Youngjae, did you get Jinyoung his breakfast?”

Youngjae looked away sheepishly, “No.” He muttered, glancing out the corner of his eye after a moment at Jackson, who was busy organizing spoons.

“Well get that done right away- actually, just bring it to the room. I’m going down there now to release him. Lord Im says he’s been punished enough.” Jackson barely was paying attention to the broken pieces of plate Youngjae was stealthily putting in the trash, and when Jackson turned around he was oblivious to Youngjaes mishap at all, walking out the the kitchen. 

“Lord Im is in a better mood than most days. Let’s try to make no mistakes.” Jackson said over his shoulder.

Yeri, who had been watching Youngjae being sneaky, let out a bark of laughter as he hustled out of sight, and Youngjae threw leftover egg at her.

Jinyoung was staring at the ceiling, counting the stones that covered it when Jackson entered the cellar. He quickly sat up at the noise of his footsteps then the opening of the entrance. 

“Jinyoung?”

Jinyoung frpze for a second, recognizing the person being the rough looking servant from yesterday. From what he saw the day before, he grew wary at his presence here, and only let out a soft, “Yes?”

The door’s lock rattled, and Jinyoung stood up when the door swung open, showing the blonde haired butler. Upon seeing the scholar, he lowered his blonde head in a bow and stood up, much more inviting than what he encountered last night.

“I’m here to show you to your room.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened, and he glanced behind the butler to see if Youngjae was with him. Seeing his glance, the servant looked behind also, but turned back around quickly, “Oh, it’s just me.” He said, his voice lighter than it was the night before, “Come with me, please.” He stepped back from the doorway to let him out, and Jinyoung cautiously went past him after a pause, stopping to watch him close the door again. 

The servant turned back around and gave him a small nod and a tight smile, “Follow me.”

Coming out of the cell was a strain on his eyes, and as he ascended the stairs behind the butler, he had to squint his eyes at the amount of light all around him. The other turned back around when he noticed Jinyoung was preoccupied with getting his vision in check rather than keeping up with him. He winced by gave a small, apologetic smile, “I’m sorry about the cell lighting. The master likes it dark and gloomy down there.” He said with some amusement to it. Jinyoung didn’t smile.

“I see.” Jinyoung said, blinking a few more times, looking around, “Where are we headed?”

“Second floor to the north corridor. Youngjae will bring you your breakfast there.” He said promptly. He paused and looked back at him, “That’s the kitchen boy you saw yesterday.” He said after a moment of hesitation, “My name is Jackson.”

Jinyoung nodded slowly and went to smile back at his quick grin, but Jackson already was hustling towards the staircase up ahead. He felt the awkwardness roll off of Jackson, presumably from the contrast of the situation now compared to the encounter last night. Jinyoung felt he could pick the tenseness out of the air and take a bite out of it. 

The house was beautiful. It was almost like a castle with how many and how grand the hallways and rooms were, each bigger than the cottage him and his brother resided in. The walls were tall, everything decorated in rich hues of blue, red, and gold. When they passed by a window, Jinyoung almost gasped at the sight of a expansive maze and garden that spread all the way to the edge of the forest. He’d never seen a yard so big and taken care of, not even the ones in the homes of the university students he worked for.

Eyes still glued to the window as the ascended, Jinyoung inquired, “Is Lord Im a royal?”

Jackson glanced back at him and looked at where Jinyoungs eyes were, and nodded, “His uncle is the Prince, his family reigns over this side of the kingdom.” He said with an air of nonchalance.

Jinyoungs brow furrowed, looking at the butler now, somewhat in awe but mostly confusion, “I’ve never heard of him before, and I’m in the town almost every day.”

“He doesn’t do the ruling himself. He has people to do it for him.” Jackson said promptly, “He doesn’t like… dealing with… The public.” He ended awkwardly, still not looking at Jinyoung as the reached the top.

Jinyoung glanced at the garden once more before following deeper into the house. 

A few more hallways and Jackson led him to a pair of large white doors at the end of the corridor, and pushed them open with little to no effort, it seemed. Jinyoung had to make an effort to keep his mouth from dropping own in shock as he gazed in.

The room was gorgeous. The furniture and walls were brightly white, all accented with gold, and the carpet was a soft baby blue, matching the bedspread and tablecloths. Jinyoung was afraid to step in at first, fearing messing the pristine state of the room from simply existing in it. As he entered, he held his breath too, fearing breathing too hard might knock over one of the many decorative (but no doubt expensive) vases, statues, and the chandelier that hung above the middle of the room.

The area was a stark contrast to the rest of the house, where it was dominated by reds and dark mahogany. Whereas this, well, his, area was brightly lit and almost was a strain on his eyes from the way the sun reflected off of all the lightly coloured decor. The light came from the huge window that overlooked the back of the estate, which Jinyoung noted as soon as the shock from the luxurious room wore off. He made a beeline for it as soon as he noticed.

He pushed open the window and looked out, basking in the sight. Everything was much more expansive from this view, and he was so enthralled he almost jumped when Jackson stepped up behind him.

“Do you like gardens?”

Jinyoung glanced at him and nodded, “Never had a flower one of my own, but I used to sneak into the baroness’s when she was out for her morning stroll. I used to take that hour to read for my own pleasure.” He smiled, “We only ever had room for vegetables in our tiny garden-“

Jinyoung stopped abruptly, throat inclosing. The sudden emotion hitting him at the thought of home made him speechless. He guessed this was his home now, but the thought brought back Yugyeom into his mind, and suddenly he felt sick to his stomach. He shouldn’t be basking in this luxury while his brother at home had to struggle. Yugyeom was probably worried sick about him. Hell, now Jinyoung was worried sick about Yugyeom. How was he going to take care of him now?

His sudden silence must have alarmed Jackson, because he felt a hand on his shoulder and a rushed, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Jinyoung totally forgot Jackson was there in that moment, and he had to take a couple seconds to swallow the lump in his throat before he said, in a quiet voice, “I just… I miss Yugyeom.” He took a quick look at Jackson, who looked stricken, “I worry for him.”

Jackson seemed to control the emotions on his face to something less dramatic, but he could still see the furrow of his brow, “It will be tough.” Jackson began, “But I assure you,” He stepped forward a little to make eye contact with Jinyoung, and Jinyoung was a little startled at the earnest expression he wore, “You’re going to learn to like it here. We’re not all as bad as Lord Im.”

Jacksons words made him feel a little bit better, but he almost teared up at his next words.

“You’re brother is going to be fine. He’s a brave soul, and he loves you too much to do anything brash.”

Jinyoung let out a bark of a laugh, but didn’t look at him, “I know.”

There was a moment go silence as Jinyoung watched the garden before Jackson decided to leave him alone.

“If you need me, just ring that bell, I’ll be there in seconds.”

Jinyoung nodded but didn’t look back, and only relaxed a bit when he heard the click of the door.

The control over his face didn’t last more than two seconds before his features screwed up and he buried his head in his hands, letting out a choked sob. He couldn’t help his guilt, and he worried for his brother as he stood here in this beautiful room, with doilies that cost more than his entire wardrobe. He felt like a fraud, wondering what kind of brother was he, to be living comfortably while his brother struggled at their home alone? He desperately hoped Yugyeom would have enough sense to at least find comfort in Bambam.

He managed to control his sobs after what seemed like a long time, until his crying was quiet, tears running down his face silently. He inhaled a shuddering breath and was overcome with the familiar thirst after a breakdown, but all he could think about was sleeping until someone else came for him. 

He made his way over to the bed and flopped down, relishing in the coolness of the white sheets. It felt nice on his flushed face, and Jinyoung rolled over, wiping his nose with his sleeve and kicking off his shoes. He didn’t bother pulling the blankets over him, because his eyes drooped closed as soon as he stilled. 

Youngjae was just walking up the stairs at the end of the hallway as Jinyoung drifted off, and held onto his tray with a firm grip. He slowly but surely made his way over to the end of the hall, and knocked softly on the door, calling out his name.

“Jinyoung? I brought you your breakfast.”

Hearing no sounds coming from the other side, he grew concerned for a moment, and he pushed the door open a little bit, “Jinyoung? I’m coming in. Are you-“ He stopped talking when he spotted him sprawled across the bed, sound asleep. He smiled in amusement and walked forward, placing his tray on the bedside table.

Thinking he must have had a hard nights rest, he glanced over at Jinyoungs sleeping form. His smile diminished quickly as he took in the state of his eyes. They were all red and puffy, no denying he had been crying. Youngjae’s heart clenched as he looked at the young man. He turned and quickly but quietly left, opening and closing the door with ease, and pausing after it clicked shut. 

“How is he?”

Youngjae nearly died on the spot from surprise, and thanked god he wasn't carrying anything at the moment. He looked at Jaebum sheepishly, but Jaebum was staring at the door.

“Um, he’s sleeping.” Youngjae said quietly.

Jaebum nodded at this, “Must mean he likes his room.”

Youngjae grimaced at this, and immediately regretted this small display of emotion as he saw his masters gaze focus on his. Youngjae ducked his head and tried to head down the hall with a small bow.

“Youngjae.”

Youngjae froze at his commanding tone, and turned around halfway, “I-Is there anything else, Lord-“

“What is it?”

It was a question but it was a demand at the same time, and Youngjae met Jaebums eyes quickly when he saw the steeliness in them. He swallowed.

“Jinyoung… He’s… Been crying. That’s why he’s asleep.”

Jaebum didn’t say anything, and his gaze didn’t falter. He blinked once and turned away, walking down the hallway, “Very well.” Were the only words as Youngjae watched his retreating form, “You may return to your duties.”

Youngjae felt himself release a breath as Lord Im stalked out of sight, and he quickly made his way back downstairs, his mind reeling as he went to find Yeri and Wendy.

Lord Im never dismissed servants so politely before, and Youngjae vibrated with excitement over these new turn of events. 

As worried as he was for Jinyoung, he couldn’t help but think his presence was going to be good for them. Especially Jaebum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating in a timely fashion! lol


	4. Chapter 4

When Jinyoung woke up, the sun was nearly setting. He felt surreal for a moment, the yellow light of dusk tingeing the whiteness of the carpet and furniture, and his grogginess has him feel drained instead of refreshed. 

He sat up, taking a shaky breath, and looked slowly around him. 

Everything was perfectly still, and he realized where he was. He decided to not cry again however, realizing that wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Even when he was crying, he knew in the back of his mind he couldn’t change anything. Helpless, he exhausted himself by crying until he had nothing left.

The thirst came quickly after sitting still for a minute, realizing he went most of the day having nothing to drink or eat since the afternoon before, and he realized it had been almost twenty four hours since his last intake of bread. His eyes scanned the room and when they landed on a pitcher full of crystal clear, perspiring water right next to a couple crystal cups, he never felt as patched as he did in that moment. He rolled over to that side of the bed and quickly poured himself a glass, then another, then another, downing nearly three quarters of the pitcher in one minute.

He let the satisfaction of water settle over him, taking deep breaths slowly after gulping down as much as he could. He felt much better and less groggier, with his headache seething away. He stood up carefully and made his way to the door.

But before he could even reach a hand out for the doorknob, there was a knock from the other side. Jinyoung jumped a little at the light noise, and fell silent for a second.

“Jinyoung?”

Recognizing Youngjae’s voice, Jinyoung relaxed. He didn’t even realized he tensed up to begin with. Instead of answering back, he opened the door, which must of startled Youngjae, because he jumped back at the immediate response, and once more lost the grip he had on a second tray of food. 

Luckily, Jinyoung was right there and quickly grabbed it before it completely fell onto the ground like that mornings breakfast.

Youngjae held onto his heart and closed his eyes, letting out a frustrated “AH”.

“I’m so sorry Jinyoung, I’m so clumsy.” He said quickly after regaining his composure, “I feel like all I ever do is mess up” He laughed a little in good nature. Jinyoung shook his head at this.

“Nonsense, it’s okay, I was just going to breech the rest of the house, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Youngjae gave him such a happy smile that his eyes almost disappeared, and Jinyoung couldn’t help but return it. The smell of the meal Youngjae was carrying distracted him after a moment.

“Is this for me?”

Youngjae looked like he forgot what he was doing for a moment before looking down at the tray in his hands, “Oh! Yes! Here I’ll just put it on the table.” 

Jinyoung stepped aside and let Youngjae into the room, where he quickly went to the table near the window and set it down. He followed closely behind, and looked at the spread he brought for Jinyoung. 

“The master said he wanted you to have the proper nutrients, since he noticed you didn’t eat at all yet today.” Youngjae said with a smile, “It was prepared by our kitchen girl Yeri, and the flowers were piked straight from our garden.”

Jinyoung approached the beautifully decorated meal, and touched one of the bright white roses that were tucked neatly into a small vase. 

“This is beautiful.” Jinyoung said quietly, before chuckling a bit, “I almost don’t even want to eat.”

“Nonsense!”

Jinyoung jumped a little at how tersely Youngjae had responded, but the servant paid no mind to his reaction and continued to babble on, pulling out the chair at the small table and placing the meal, “You must eat, the master insisted that you have something to eat tonight- ‘don’t let him leave the room until he’s eaten that whole plate.’ he said, and he meant it too! His voice got all low and serious and kind of scary- Wendy’s eyes were the size of saucers and she nearly dropped all the clean linen she was carrying- Yeri didn’t even look at him! So honestly if you don’t eat this all I don’t even know what he’s going to do-“

Jinyoung quickly clasped his hand over his mouth and placed a finger over his own lips, hushing him. Youngjae’s eyes grew wide and he took a step back, smiling sheepishly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“I’ll eat it all, don’t worry.” Jinyoung smiled at him, and Youngjae returned it, looking relieved. 

“Thank you Jinyoung.”

So Jinyoung ate the entire plate, and he felt so full he could burst. The meats he had eaten were cooked to perfection, and he couldn’t stop thinking of it, even when Youngjae was packing up.

“Who did you say cooked this? Yeri?”

Youngjae looked at him and nodded, with smile that never seemed to leave. 

“Could I meet her?” 

Youngjae looked surprised, and a bit taken aback, and once more Jinyoung feared he made some other absurd comment that seemed to rile Youngjae up again.

But all youngjae did was nod quickly and pick up the tray, looking excited.

Jinyoung smiled and followed him out of the room and down the hall.

x

The downstairs area was very quiet, Jinyoung thought. He wasn’t distracted by the dazzling decor this time and he simply listened to Youngjae’s babbling, responding with encouraging nods and smiles every time the servant looked back at him. 

When they made it to a pair go wooden swing doors, Youngjae pushed them open without a thought, still talking, but immediately stopped when a shout came from directly behind it.

He stopped talking, mouth still open, as he squeezed through and checked what it was. 

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry Joy!”

“Youngjae this is the second time in the past two days that you’ve hit me with this fuc-“

The black haired girl stopped mid-swear after getting up from the floor and noticing her companion was not alone. She quickly stood up straight and gave a polite bow. 

“Sir, I apologize for my rude demeanour, I did not mean to-“

“Ah ah ah-“ Jinyoung hushed, chuckling a bit, “There’s no need for that, I understand.” 

Joy stood back up and looked from Youngjae to Jinyoung, before blushing at the sudden silence and excuse herself in a small voice and brushing past the two.

Youngjae laughed nervously and glanced at Jinyoung, “Thats uh… Joy… She’s…” He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

“In a hurry?” Jinyoung joked. Youngjae lit up and laughed honestly, making Jinyoung feel warm inside. He was glad he was beginning to relax around him, he had a feeling he would need a friend if he was going to stay here.

He mentally squashed the uneasy feeling that sprouted in his stomach at the thought and followed Youngjae deeper into the kitchen.

Youngjae quickly showed him the kitchen. The servant said hello to a cute girl who was covered in flour, and she responded with a swat to his chest and scolded him for touring the manor with the new guest while she had to “slave away in this dungeon”. Youngjae chastised her for slapping him and all she did was hit him again.

They made their way down the hall to a huge empty room with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the wall, detailed tapestries decorating the ceiling that surrounded it. 

“Funny, I thought Jackson or Seulgi would be in here.” Youngjae muttered, walking forward and looking further in. 

“Oh, Jackson, the short one with the black hair?”  
“Short?” 

Jinyoung and Youngjae both whipped around, only to see a disgruntled looking Jackson.

There was a moment of silence, and Jinyoung wondered if he would catch on fire with the glare he was looking at him with.

Jackson turned his attention to Youngjae, who tensed up.

Then Jackson let out the funniest laugh Jinyoung has ever heard.

Youngjae started laughing too in turn, going to Jackson and quickly hitting his chest.

“Don’t do that! You scared me!” Youngjae whined, still hitting Jackson. Jackson let out a shout.

“Yah! Stop that!” He laughed again, “You should have seen the looks on your faces!”

Jinyoung muffled his laughter behind his hand, and Jackon let up his, his open mouth smile subsiding to a shy one. He looked at Jinyoung, and seemed to sober up as he furrowed his brow and bowed.

“I’m sorry for playing a joke on you,” He apologized, but Jinyoung went forward and brought him back up by the shoulder.

“No need to.” He said quickly, “I prefer this side of you, actually.” 

Jackson gave him that shy smile again for a moment, before turning on a grinning Youngjae.

“What the hell are you smiling about?”

Youngjae shrieked of laughter and Jackson nearly tackled him and Jinyoung laughed and laughed.

Jinyoung found that the stoic butler wasn’t actually stoic at all, but very goofy. Jackson accompanied them for the rest of the house tour, and there wasn’t a moment when Jinyoung didn’t have a smile on his face from whatever came out of his mouth. Youngjae only seemed to fuel Jacksons antics, his contagious laughter taking over his entire body any time Jackson pushed or teased him. 

As they were walking past the main entrance, there was a lull in the conversation, and Jinyoung piped up that he noticed the garden.

“The garden?” Jackson repeated, looking at him. Jinyoung nodded.

“When you were taking me to my room, remember? Could we go there next?” Jinyoung asked, his voice light. He noticed Youngjae suddenly got quiet, but Jacksons smile widened a bit. Almost into a smirk. 

“Oh, yes definitely! Youngjae-“

“I just remembered Yeri asked me to clean the silverware.” He said quickly, walking the other way and not looking back, “I’m sure you can handle it from here.” He tossed over his shoulder.

“Hey!” Jackson called after him, “You can’t just run away from this!” 

But the only response he got was hurrying footsteps on the marble floors. Running? Thought Jinyoung. 

Jackson turned back to him and sighed, shaking his head, “That kid…” He muttered, sounding amused. He brightened up however, before Jinyoung could ask, and motioned his hand down the other hallway, “This way.” 

It was a smaller hallway, but decorated in the finest as the others were, only a bit cluttered, Jinyoung thought, as he noticed the dust collecting on a few items. 

“I hope you don’t mind we take the servants door, the main entrance is on the other side, and I figured we could walk through it and come back inside there.” Jackson explained, moving around a table that was particularly in the way. 

Jinyoung nodded, not really bothered at all by the detour. It was interesting to see a part of the house that wasn’t bleached clean and shining. He looked down at the carpet and saw the path embedded into the carpet from overuse, and made him wonder if there were any other secret hallways like this one.

They reached a wooden door with a barred window. Jinyoung admitted to himself it looked kind of scary, but Jackson walked right up to it with no qualms and pushed it open with ease. Jinyoung duly noted that it was in fact unlocked, and started to muse about it, but all his thought flew out the window when he stepped outside.

The garden was beautiful, and his mind was blown away at the thought that this was only the servants entrance. The flowers were unruly in this area, not at all like the garden he spotted going up to his room, but it was still beautiful nonetheless. Jackson apologized.

“This isn’t what you seen, we’ll be making our way to it shortly, please excuse the detour.”

Jinyoung looked at him with amusement and confusion, “Theres no need to apologize.” He said, looking around at the vining plants hanging from one of the overhead gates,”It’s very beautiful.”

Jackson smiled but didn’t say anything, leading the way deeper into the garden. Jinyoung noticed how the plants began to look more organized and pristine, right to the point where they got to the rose bush clearing. Jinyoung let his hand hit a couple of the buds softly, but carefully as to not prick his hand on the thorns. 

Jackson shouted in greeting, and Jinyoung nearly jumped out of his skin. He almost wanted to scold Jackson for doing that, but when he looked up he saw the smile on Jacksons face and thought otherwise. He couldn’t dictate whether he would actually be offended if he did so or not. 

It’ll come with time, Jinyoung decided, letting his insecurities come first. He took a look at who Jackson was calling to. 

A man with light hair was sitting up on in knees near a rose bush, his head turned towards them and his mouth in a bright smile. The man quickly dusted off his hands and stood up to come close to them, and Jinyoung was suddenly hit with the realization of how good looking every single soul in this house was. 

He took a quick look at Jackson, with his soft doe eyes and strong jawline, and then thought back to Youngjae and the other girls, and he wondered if this was all a coincidence or Lord Im really wanted to hold up the powerful aesthetic he had going on. 

Before he could even dwell on his self consciousness, idly noting he didn't even check in the mirror for drool or pillow marks on his face before meeting what felt like ten people in the household, the gardener was bowing in front of him and introducing himself with a deep voice that almost didn’t match his angelic features. 

“It’s nice to meet you Jinyoung, I feel like I’ve heard so much about you.” He said with a small smile, “I’m Mark, head gardener.”

Jinyoung bowed back, a little bit flustered at the bow itself. “Jinyoung. Your work is beautiful.” He blurted. 

Mark looked bashful, looking behind him at the perfectly trimmed bushes. “Thank you.” He mumbled quietly, turning back to Jinyoung, “Have you met everyone else?”

“Almost, you know how Seulgi and Wendy are always hard to find.” Jackson piped up. 

Mark only laughed again, “That’s because Seulgi works harder than all of us and you frighten Wendy.” 

Jackson actually looked offended, “I do not! It’s not my fault she can’t handle my presence. I have done nothing wrong to her.”

“I didn’t say you did anything wrong to her.” Mark said, winking at Jinyoung out of the corner of his eye. Jinyoung smiled.

Mark looked surprised at his face and pointed to his cheeks, “Oh, Joy was right, you do have whiskers when you smile.”

Jinyoung stopped smiling out of shock. He had only met Joy half an hour ago and he barely had a good look at her face. Mark laughed at his reaction and so did Jackson.

“They’re good, they’re good, don’t worry.” Mark continued, “They’re a nice trait.”

Jinyoung smiled again at the compliment, bashful that someone so pretty could say things like this when they just met. 

“Tone it down, Mr. Tuan, don’t forget your current courtship with Youngjae.” Jackson said quickly, his eyes bright and teasing. Jinyoung looked at Jackson with surprise, then to Mark. 

Mark was looking at Jackson with an annoyed expression, no trace of teasing. He lifted his hand to swat at Jackson and Jackson ducked dramatically out of the way with a high pitched yell, laughing.

The rest of his time in the garden Jinyoung spent asking about the flowers and the structure of the house. He also desperately wanted to know how each of them came to work for Lord Im, but he felt that was a story for another day. 

He spent the last remaining hours of sunlight out in the garden, and when it started to darken, Jackson suggested that Jinyoung head back inside to get ready for dinner.

Of course Jinyoung was a little confused, not sure what that meant. He followed anyways, thinking he meant wash up, but when Jackson said dinner would be in an hour, he made the comment with a laugh that washing himself would only take ten minutes.

Jackson looked at him questioningly, “You’re not going to change?”

Jinyoung looked at him, confused, “No? I have no clothing with me…“ He said sheepishly.

Jackson seemed to understand, and with a nod walked deeper into his room to a door Jinyoung hadn’t even noticed was there. It blended almost perfectly with the wall, the handle barely noticeable. He motioned for Jinyoung to come over.

As Jinyoung stood next to him he opened the door and Jinyoungs eyes went wide. He had never seen so many clothes in his life. They were all so colourful, and every fabric looked soft to the touch. Jackson stepped aside and ushered Jinyoung in. 

Jinyoung tentatively touched the sleeve of one of the closer jackets, and Jackson explained that they weren’t all exactly his size, as most of them were intended for Lord Im.

“He has been circulating between the same twenty or so outfits for the past few years. He doesn’t even bother looking in here anymore, he assumes anything other than black, navy, and grey are too lively for his lifestyle.” Jackson chuckles a bit at this, standing behind Jinyoung, “You seem to be about the same size as him, but I’m sure you will be able to find something suitable for dinner.”

Jinyoung felt a bit of that dreaded self consciousness filter into his stomach again. “He doesn’t mind me wearing his clothes?” He let out a nervous chuckle walking deeper into the closet, “I’ve never worn anything this elaborate to a wedding, let alone dinner. The most shirts I have ever owned at a time was… three? Four?”

Jackson shrugged, “Lord Im expects you to dress accordingly to his expectations” He stepped next to Jinyoung and took down a shirt with a complicated neckline, looking back at Jinyoung, “Do you like cravats?”

Jinyoung looked at the fabric hanging off of the shirt, taking it gently into his hand, “Never had the chance to find out.”

“Well,” Jackson placed it back down and turned to him, a small smirk playing his features, “Undress because it’s time to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i literally have no clue about the fashion that they're wearing. I'm just imagining a very light victorian era aesthetic going on here. 
> 
> sorry for the wait and the typos! you have no idea how busy this whole summer has been.


	5. Chapter 5

It was almost eight when Jinyoung was escorted down the stairs by Jackson. The scent form the soap he used to wash up smelt fresh, and Jinyoung thought his skin hadn’t felt this smooth in years. Jackson had picked out a beautiful deep green coat for him to wear, and while Jinyoung immediately refused, Jackson quickly changed his mind when he told him to look in the mirror and see how the colour made his eyes glow. 

Jinyoung would’ve blushed at the compliment, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it until Jackson began undressing him. 

Walking down up to the dark double doors, Jinyoung stopped abruptly, turning to Jackson.

“What do I say to him? Does he expect me to come to this dinner with some sort of agenda?” Jinyoung hadn’t thought of the fact that he was going to have a pretty intimate dining experience with the man who threw his brother into a cold cellar and locked him in nearly all night. Jinyoung tried not to dwell on the fact that he is basically keeping him hostage here— for whatever reasons, he has no idea. Was this dinner supposed to lay out the rules of his captivity? Was he supposed to grovel at his feet for some sort of forgiveness? Jinyoung did not like the idea of that at all. 

His panic must have shown on his face, because he felt Jackson grasp his upper arm and give it a comforting squeeze. He told him to calm down.

“I don’t think Master Im is going to chew you up— he always eats alone, so I’m not sure what he’ll talk about. I hardly think he’ll talk at all actually.” Jackson looked at Jinyoung in the eye comfortingly, but Jinyoung’s comfort didn’t last when he realized he was going to be subjected to an hour or so of complete silence of judgement with this man.

But the little relaxation in his arm prompted Jackson to continue forth and open the doors, and Jinyoung wrung his hands.

“Sir Park, Master Im.”

Jinyoung walked in and his eyes scanned the long dining room, to find an equally long table to fit it, decorated with more flowers— many he recognized form the garden. The man was sitting at one end and was standing up, while Jinyoung was busy taking in the decor. When his eyes finally landed on him, he was met with an icy gaze that was looking at his outfit, then his face.

Jinyoungs eyes met his and he bowed down low out of panic.

“Stand up straight.” His voice echoed through the quiet room, “Jackson, you may leave us be.”

Jinyoung turned towards Jackson, but he had already slipped through the doors, closing them in front of him. He met his eyes for a brief second, and all the butler did was give him a small smile, before disappearing behind two walls of mahogany. Jinyoung turned towards his host, who was still looking at him with unreadable eyes. 

“Have a seat.” 

Jinyoung walked over to the chair adjacent to his, and sat down softly, not making eye contact with him and instead looking down at the tables decor. The plates were fancy. Gold lined. And he had three forks and three spoons. 

He’s heard that the rich eat with more than one fork and now he’s panicking because he never figured he’d be in this situation with such intimidating company. They were silent for a moment before the doors opened on the other side of the room. 

Jinyoung looked up towards the noise and saw Joy and Wendy enter from the other side, dishes in hand. They didn’t make eye contact with either of them as they placed the bowls full of a red soup in front of them, before hurrying back out.

Jinyoung watched them go out, disappointed that they didn’t acknowledge him or make any eye contact, but he also resigned his emotions when he realized they probably never spoke around their Master. 

He looked at the latter out of the corner of his eyes and quickly retracted them when he saw the Lords gaze nearly penetrating him, his heart leaping into his throat at the fear of being caught.

“You don’t have to be so stiff.”

Jinyoung stared into his bowl and let out a small, “I apologize.” as Lord Im started to eat his soup. He took this as a cue to eat also, picking up what he hoped was the soup spoon and taking a bite. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was, and the redness was delicious, so he immediately delved in, taking three spoonfuls quickly but cautiously so he didn’t spill any.

“From the way you're demolishing that borscht I would assume you’ve never been fed properly before.”

Stilling once more, Jinyoung sheepishly paced his fork down and looked at Lord Im, who only calmly and regally sipped at his appetizer with a different spoon than Jinyoung, not once looking at him with the stern gaze he held him in before they were served. 

Jinyoung felt embarrassed from how casually he made the statement, and was going to comment on it. As he was looking at him trying to figure out how to defend himself however, the Lord’s eyes moved from his dish and caught his gaze directly.

“For gods sake wipe the residue off your face. You look like a child who has never used a utensil before.” He spoke harshly, and Jinyoung nearly flinched at his tone, but he was frozen. The master shook his head abruptly and put his spoon down, “I don’t understand how you can walk in here with little to no manners what so ever— after I bring you out of the cellar and put you in a comfortable room, feed you, let my help bring you around the grounds and even let you wear my clothing— you come in here and act like I have the plague, and show little to no table manners, and I even heard you were crying like a baby earlier. You’re embarrassing to even be around.”

The Lord stared at Jinyoung, and Jinyoung stared back. 

He felt shock. He felt humiliation.

He felt it for exactly four seconds. 

He stood up abruptly, his chair knocking back and his bowl almost knocking over as he slammed his hands onto the table.

“I never fucking asked to be here.” He gritted out, “I never asked for you to give me these rich fancy things. I never asked for you to throw my brother in the dungeon for whatever petty fucking reason you think was worthy, over a few choice words. I bet whatever he said to you was well deserved and you couldn’t fucking handle it. I have never seen this shit in my life. I have never dined next to a fucking lord while wearing a fucking cravat and I never wanted to— go right fucking ahead and insult my manners because I wasn’t brought up knowing how to use six different spoons and forks and knives because I NEVER WANTED TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.” 

The room was cold. And so was his hand. He had spilt the soup on himself in the middle of his outburst and the red sauce was dripping from the back of his hand onto the table. He broke their eye contact and snatched up the cloth napkin right next to him and wiped his hand quickly off. He remembered his face and did the same, and threw it on the ground before spinning around and making his was briskly out of the room, throwing a few more words over his shoulder.

“And go right ahead and get Jackson to throw me back into the fucking cellar if you regret letting me out so much.”

~

Mark stood to the side of the chair, staring into the fireplace that blazed on and crackled, making it the loudest source of sound in the room. He took his gaze from the flames and looked at his Master, who’s own gaze was unmoving from the embers at the bottom of the fire. He was silent. 

He had called him in about ten minutes ago, making Jackson run into the greenhouse to hurry him into the eastern wing— Lord Im’s personal study. The latter was currently still as ever, only his fingers moving as he ran it over and over the fringe on the armrest. Neither had said a word since Mark entered, closing the door firmly behind him ask Jackson left quickly, knowing not to dwindle outside the room when Lord Im met with his closest consultant in the house. 

Mark has known Jaebum the longest, and was the only one in the house to refer to him by his first name— albeit only when they were alone. Together since they were seven, they had spent the next decade growing a steady bond. Though their respect for each other never levelled out as equals, Mark had been able to surpass the servant status long ago. 

Mark waited for Jaebum to speak, knowing that his mind was going a mile a minute under the stony expression. He knew if it took him longer than fifteen minutes for him to speak, he was either in some serious trouble or was waiting for Mark to speak first.

But either way, Jaebum spoke before the five minute mark.

“Is it his brother?”

Mark didn’t look away from the fire, “Perhaps. He’s worried about him. He’s never left his side for this long before.”

Jaebum snorted at this, a rude expression that would offend many, but Mark didn’t bristle at it, only shrugged, “Most common folk do not usually stray from their family.”

“Yet there the child was, knocking at my door, insulting my staff and livelihood.”

“His brother did follow soon after, my lord.”

Mark could tell Jaebum wanted to bite back but couldn’t, so they both resigned to looking at the flames again, the crackling sounds laying over them like a blanket. 

~

It had been a few hours since the detested dinner, and Jinyoung was laying in bed, half undressed because he flung himself into the sheets before anything else, trying to seep his anger through the mattress. 

He did fall asleep for about half an hour, but woke up from the discomfort of the trousers he was wearing. He usually preferred to sleep with no pants on, and has done so all his life, but the confinement of these new clothes was getting to him, even when all he wanted to do was go to sleep and never wake up. 

But as he undressed in the small adjoining bathroom, his reflection in the mirror made his movements stop and stand there for a while.

He looked horrible. 

The redness in his eyes, the black bags underneath, and the way his hair stuck matted to his forehead from his unideal sleeping position made it look like he was stressed beyond belief. Which, he was, but he felt he shouldn’t be. 

It was more guilt stress than anything else. Thoughts of his brother plagued him, and now, his outburst at dinner just added on top of the guilt from all the luxuries he was given in the past hours. 

How dare he speak against the master of the house?

Jinyoung scoffed at himself in the mirror. The bastard had it coming for him. How dare the master speak with such ruthlessness? His entire existence in his household wouldn’t even be a problem if the Lord hadn’t taken his brother— who now lives alone, with no income save for his hunting skills, and whatever he can sell and eat. 

Jinyoung let out a pitiful whine and rubbed his eyes. They were stinging with unshed tears and frustration, but he couldn’t do anything about it, could not check up on his brother. 

Or maybe he could.

Jinyoungs movements paused as he thought, maybe he would be allowed to send a letter. He knew Yugyeom couldn't read that well, and he definitely wouldn't be able to write back, but he could at least recognize his handwriting and maybe get someone who could… Bambam perhaps. 

Jinyoung went back into his room and searched for some paper and ink. The desk had a drawer filled with fancy stationary, and Jinyoung’s nose curled in disgust at the ordinate emblem of the household, which he recognized from several flags and objects around the house. He rummaged around for the least decorated one, and pulled out a fancy feathered quill to start writing. 

When he was done, he tucked the letter safely into an envelope and wrote Yugyeoms name on it, and after a moment of debating, he stamped it shut with wax, even though it was another emblem to mark it with.

He stood up and walked to his nightstand, placing it right where he would see it when he woke up, and got ready for bed once more. Tonight would mark his first whole day in the manor. This life he needs to grow accustomed to, for god knows how long, is going to have to sink in sooner or later. 

Jinyoung was just happy he probably only had to deal with the master of the house only once a day, maybe even less. He could spend most of his time with the much nicer staff, who made much more effort to keep him happy in his situation. 

He tentatively opened his bedroom door, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. The hallway was only lit by a few candles and the moonlight through the tall windows, casting a frosty appearance in some places and warmth in another. He quietly slipped out and closed the door behind him, and went to find the front door. 

The entrance was cold when it was night, and he swore his breath could be seen, but it was too dark to figure out if it was. There was a small table next to the entrance, and he walked over and put it down, hoping someone would see it in the morning and know what to do with it. He didn’t know if the Lord got mail, but he had to do his business somehow. If no one picked it up, he would ask Jackson or Youngjae what he could do with it— he doubted he could leave the ground to go deliver it himself. 

On that thought, he looked at the closed door, not even 10 meters from where he stood. For a brief moment he let himself believe he could make a run for it, maybe slip out unnoticed in the dead of night and try to run back to town. Would they find him missing, and go find him? How would they even know where he would go? Would he even make it through the cold night, with only the clothes on his back? He honestly couldn’t remember how he even got here, let alone how to get back. He wondered if the staff would get in trouble by their master, he didn't want them to be punished for his reckless actions. He didn’t know how ruthless he could be—

A soft gasp resonated throughout the entrance, and Jinyoung quickly turned around. It was Wendy, in her night clothes, at the far side of the room holding a candle in one hand and clutching her front with the other, obviously spooked by his appearance. 

“Who is it?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat, not realizing the constriction, “It’s just me, Wendy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Wendy visibly relaxed, all fear being replaced with relief, “Oh my god, I nearly dropped the candle, what are you doing this late at…” Her eyes drifted from him to the front door, questioning and seemingly putting two and two together. She tensed up again, looking back at Jinyoung, a question forming behind her lips, but Jinyoung quickly reacted.

“Ah! No, I wasn’t— I wouldn’t—“ He grabbed the envelope and held it up, “I wrote a letter, and I didn’t know where to— I mean it needs to go out— And I—“

“Oh! You can just leave it there— Jackson takes the mail to ton every morning, and he’ll see it.” She quickly walked over and took it from him, placing it standing up on the decorative vase on the table. She turned to him and she looked like she didn’t know what to do next, “Um, do you, want to be escorted back to your room?”

“Oh, uh, no I got it. Thank you Wendy.” He bowed a little to her and waved, albeit a little awkwardly, and hurried away up the staircase. 

Wendy watched him go, then took a glance at the letter, the door, and went back to her room. 

She quietly opened the door and slipped into her shared room. While she didn’t think she was making a lot of noise, Yeri sat right up and looked at her.

“Where did you go?”

Wendy quietly snuffed out her candle and climbed into her bed, “I went to get some water, but oh my god, I ran into Jinyoung.”

“What? This late at night?”

“Yeah, he was looking for somewhere to put a letter to be sent out, but I caught him looking at the front door.” She fluffed her pillow and plopped down, taking a pause. “I think he was thinking about running away.”

“Oh my god… Are you going to tell someone? He can’t leave—“

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m kind of freaking out. He already is confined to the grounds, I don’t want him to lose what little privileges he has. Besides, what if I’m wrong and he wasn’t even—“

“What are you guys whispering about, I can’t sleep.” 

Both Yeri and Wendy turned towards Joy, who was now sitting up along with Yeri, and apologetically whispered, “Sorry.”

Wendy sat up again, “I was telling Yeri that I saw Jinyoung when I went to get some water.”

“And?” Joy asked.

“He looked suspicious, I don’t know if he was just doing what he said he was doing or planning on making a run for it.”

“Oh no. He can’t do that—“

“Thats what I said!” Yeri pointed at Joy.

“But we don’t know that— he didn’t have anything with him or anything, and he really had a letter he said he was putting on the table.”

“Are you going to tell someone?”

Both Yeri and Joy looked at Wendy, who looked at the both of them, “I… I don’t know. He’s really trapped here, I don’t want him to be trapped even more.”

They were all quiet for a moment. Yeri spoke up, “Maybe… You could talk to him? Like… He’s really nice, Youngjae was telling me about him… And maybe he would understand the situation…”

Wendy flopped down again, “Ugh, this is hard, I don’t even know the full story and yet I gotta convince him it’s for the best.” 

Joy rested her hand on her chin, “Just tell him to talk to Jackson or something. Or you could talk to Jack—“

“No!!”

Yeri hit the bed, “Are you seriously that in love with him that you can’t even talk to him?”

“I don’t want to talk about this, this conversation took a wrong turn, goodnight!”

Wendy turned over and pulled her blanket above her head. Joy and Yeri gave a look to each other before laying back down. 

Stubborn redhead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter really got me heated in the beginning, and i hope it made you heated as well. tell me what u think please, love y'all.
> 
> thanks for sticking around. follow me on twitter to bother me about updates ! @konwatsitsiawis


	6. Chapter 6

“Sir Jinyoung!”

The brunette had just taken a step out of his bedroom that morning, wondering if it was too early for him to be exploring the grounds. He hadn’t slept well that night, his mind too busy for sleep to slip in. He ended up waking up earlier than he should, but he figured he might as well start moving around and getting ready for the day. He still wanted to explore, but now that Youngjae was standing in front of him, he found another distraction in the smile before him. 

“Oh, good morning Youngjae.”

“It’s so early, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you would be up, I would have gotten your breakfast ready—“

“Oh, no worries. I’m not used to sleeping in, I’m usually up at this time.”

Youngjae smiled at him and nodded, “Alright, well, if you’ll follow me I can get you some breakfast now then.”

They made their way to the kitchen wing, Jinyoung insisting he not eat alone in the dining room. He grimaced when Youngjae mentioned it, and the younger got the hint right away and asked if he wanted to eat in another sitting room, or perhaps on the veranda. Jinyoung asked where he ate and Youngjae, a little stunned, described the little area connected to the kitchen where they all sat down for meals, and Jinyoung asked if he could eat there.

When they reached the kitchen, Wendy was already in there with Yeri, preparing the breakfast for the rest of them. 

“Good morning!” Youngjae called as he entered, Jinyoung following him in quietly.

The kitchen was bustling, with Wendy and Yeri preparing breakfast and Jackson hurrying to get the table set. However all movement stopped when they realized Youngjae wasn’t alone, and they all went into quick bows, ignoring their current tasks for a second.

Jackson stood up first, “Good morning Jinyoung, we didn’t expect you here, or to be awake even, we haven’t even finished breakfast—“

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m not too concerned about it. Actually, I asked Youngjae to eat with you guys this morning.”

Wendy and Yeri looked at each other in shock, and Jackson looked a bit confused.

“Oh, you don’t have to, we have a place for masters of the house to—“

“I would much rather not eat alone.” Jinyoung interjected quickly. He didn’t want to be treated as someone he wasn’t, when he knew for certain that if he were on the estate in any other circumstance, he would be eating with them, not in the main dining hall. 

He still wanted to keep what normalcy he had at home in the manor. 

They dined in a small room off to the side of the kitchen, their meals definitely not as decadent as the one he shared with the master the night before, but it served as a nice reminder of the suppers he used to have with his brother. It was casual, the staff warming up to him easily after reassurance that he was just as common as they were. 

“So you live near Westbrooke?” Mark asked, taking a big bite out of the casserole made for them.

Jinyoung nodded, “Yes, just before it if your travelling from here.”

“Oh, so you must know Bambam?”

Jinyoung looked at Mark quickly, halfway through chewing his bread. He quickly swallowed, “Yes, I do, how do you know him?”

Mark smiled, “He’s my cousin, I see him from time to time when I get to leave the house on my days off.” 

Jinyoung was appalled at this coincidence. Bambam was a very old friend of Yugyeom, and they had practically been inseparable since they found a mutual bond in age and interests a few years back. 

He quietly stored this information in the back of his head, while Jackson decided to get up and resume his duties for the day.

“I’ll be with Lord Im, please do not disturb us, he’s going through some important documents with the representative today.” He took his plate and placed it in the bin, turning back around to look at the rest, “So that means the west corridor is forbidden until the afternoon.”

“Yeah yeah, we know.” Yeri said offhandedly as she picked through the rest of her plate delicately. Jackson gave her a scathing look that she did not acknowledge before bidding goodbye and leaving.

Jinyoung watched Jackson turn the corner when Youngjae grabbed his attention with a question.

“What will you be doing today Jinyoung?” 

He shrugged, “I’m not sure. It’s not like I have a lineup of events waiting for me nowadays.” Youngjae laughed, shrugging.

“Well, you haven’t seen the entire estate yet. You could go exploring a bit.” Yeri suggested, taking a bite out of her eggs. 

“Yeah!” Mark interjected, “I can show you the other half of the garden, where it really gets interesting. Right, Youngjae?” He quickly looked over at the younger boy, with a grin on his face eagerly. Youngjae averted his eyes and nodded shyly, obviously off put by Mark’s sudden attention. Jinyoung hid his smile at the interaction.

“I suppose we could all see what’s new outside.”  
They made their way outside, Yeri, Wendy and Youngjae decided to stay back. The latter of the group's initially going to accompany them, but made some flimy excuse once he realized it would only be the three of them. Jinyoung tried to make him come, even resorting to whining at one point but Youngjae coldly shrugged it off and Jinyoung mocked offence.

“You could at least show some sympathy, that took a hit on my dignity to resort to that sort of behaviour.” Jinyoung pouted, taking a few steps away from the younger towards Mark. 

Youngjae, however, shrugged and turned away from them with a small satisfied smile, and pointedly looking away from the eldest, who looked at him earnestly from Jinyoungs side.

“You have nothing on Wendy when it comes to things like this.” Youngjae said, “She has the best puppy eyes.”

“Even better than Coco?” Mark piped in, sending Youngjae a toothy smile.

But Youngjae couldn’t resist that, looking at Mark, his ears tinged red. He paused for a moment, before concluding, “No, actually. Not better than Coco.”

Jinyoung looked between the two, not wanting to break the moment, but deciding to before the moment killed Youngjae’s blood pressure.

“Who’s Coco?”

~

“And the House wants you there for these procedures.” Seulgi concluded, watching as Irene handed Jaebum the last of the documents she carried in here. “They’re tired of hearing me tell me what you said to say, and want to meet with you face to face.”

Jaebum sighed and roughly ran a hand over his face. He knew they wouldn’t hold off from seeing him for a while, but he didn’t realize the ‘while’ was coming to an end. He started pushing the papers off to the side of his big mahogany desk, “Can’t you just tell them I’m out of town?”

Seulgi slammed a hand on the papers, stilling their movements, “I have been telling them. They won’t listen to me much longer. They need a man to tell them that this is what going to happen. Otherwise they can’t grasp the concept of anything.” 

Jaebum looked at her, “Are you sure you’re not pushing hard eno—“

“Don’t you dare use that with me.” Seulgi growled. She got up and leaned over the desk in on swift movement, “I am the one in there dealing with those idiots. I am the one out there while you cower in here behind your desk and pretending that you’re doing the whole court a favour by signing whatever I give you, wallowing in self-pity about your daddy issues and convincing yourself that you have inability to do your own job.” 

Jaebum felt his face redden, and glanced at Irene behind her, who gave him a passive stare as they waited for him to respond. He was surrounded. He sighed.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He muttered.

Seulgi quirked her eyebrow and sat back down, crossing her arms, “Just reminding you of your place.”

Jaebum snorted and picked up what she pushed in front of him. More bills on how they could manage the street merchants. He knew the township had a few but he didn’t realize that it was becoming so popular they needed to have a bill passed on it.

“Have there been problems with the merchants lately?” Jaebum asked. 

Seulgi shook her head, “The house just wants to be careful. They have been growing in numbers, so they want to get a system in place. Make sure everyone has a license.”

“But you have to be in a structure to get a license. The street merchants are usually in tents and carts. Will that rule be amended?” 

“Hopefully they’ll look into it more as it gets passed along. The papers outline everything.”

“Do they want this passed before they make that amendment? If they do then it would outlaw all those people.” Jaebum said. After a second of silence he looked up at his cousin. Irene looked annoyed. He gave her a questioning look. 

She gave him an annoyed look, “You know you could be there to say all of this. These are very valid points that I’m sure they haven’t thought through.” She said, a bit of bite staining her usually monotone voice. 

He rolled his eyes. “That’s why I have you to take care of all of it.”

She huffed, looking at him “They don’t always listen to me.”

“Well tell them I said they should.”

Her face flitted with frustration, “I can’t—“

A loud crash down the hallway interrupted their small spat, and barking could be heard. The door opened and Jackson appeared, bowing low, “I am so sorry Lord Im, I will take care of the situation at—“

“JACKSON CLOSE THE DOOR!”

Jackson jumped as a small white ball of fluff snuffled against his legs and in between them. He quickly reached down to grab it but it was too fast. He swore out loud and was knocked over by Jinyoung, quickly followed by Youngjae. Jinyoung ran over to the blur of white that was burying itself into the couch cushions and snagged it up into his arms, laughing and quickly handing it over to Youngjae when the dog snapped at him in a weak attempt at looking threatening.

Jinyoung was still laughing when he spoke, “You guys are terrible, I told you dogs hated me—“

“You’re interrupting.”

All three of them stilled. Jinyoung looked over to Jaebum, and his blood ran cold as he met his steely eyes. His eyes flitted over to the two women across the desk from him, both looking surprised, and it took a second for the faces to register for him.

“Miss Kang, I’m so sorry for intruding.” Jinyoung choked out. He glanced to Youngjae, who looked stricken, holding the small dog close to his chest, and then to Jackson, who was looking at him in disbelief. 

Seulgi cleared her throat and nodded, “It’s fine, but we were in the middle of something—“

“Yes! Yes of course! Come one Jinyoung,” Youngjae grasped Jinyoungs arm, hustling out, “Lets go put Coco back in her cage.“

“I am so sorry” Jackson muttered, bowing once again as he ushered them out of the room. 

The door closed, and Irene looked at the closed door for a moment before looking back at Jaebum, who was also looking sternly at the door.

“I don’t remember authorizing a new staff.”

Jaebum looked at her out of the corner of his eye before letting out his breathe, “He’s a guest.”

“Guest? I don’t remember authorizing that either.”

“I didn't realize you have to authorize my friends.”

Irene let out a snort. Jaebum gave her a glare and Seulgi looked amused, but instead of saying anything all she did was smile for a moment. 

“Fine. I guess I don’t.” She turned back around in her seat, “Just get back to me in a few days, if you can, I don’t want to have to keep those old men at bay with these flimsy excuses you’re providing me.”

Jaebum’s jaw was tight, and all he did was nod, not even looking at her.

“And unclench. I won’t tell anyone about your friend.”

He peered at her and relaxed his face.

She smiled, “I wasn’t talking about your jaw.”

Jaebum narrowed his eyes at her, “Don’t you have work to be doing?”

“Yes. Lots.” She said, taking a deep breath and peering out the window. 

A part of Jaebum did feel guilty for leaving all the face to face work to his cousin, but he entrusted her abilities to make things work, and to do it firmly. Lately, however, the house had been making things difficult and demanding more direct interaction with his lordship. As much as he despised going out of his way to meet with them, he figured it was time he faced his fears. 

But he would rather face his domestic dilemmas first.

“I have a favour to ask of you, Irene. Perhaps Irene could do it, it’s not very hard.”

Seulgi gave him a look, “Even if it was hard Irene could handle it with ease.”

Jaebum glanced at her sidekick and she gave him a cool gaze in return. He was probably digging himself a hole. He needed to move past this quickly.

He slid an envelope across the table towards his cousin, “I need you to deliver this, and also put in orders so that this household is taken care of. Food, heat, and whatever else they might need under my name.”

Seulgi picked up the envelope and peered at the name. “Who is this to you?” She looked up, “Another friend of yours?”

“No.” He said quickly. He bristled with annoyance over the assumption, “Just please do it.”

Seulgi raised her eyebrows but put the letter into her folder and handed it to Irene. “Very well. Anything else?”

“Nothing I can think of off the top of my head. I’ll send Jackson with a memo if anything else urgent comes up. Just make sure the letter gets delivered before anything else.”

Seulgi stood up and started to make her leave, “I’ll be back in a few days with more news of the bills. They’ll want to see you soon,” And before Jaebum could respond, she quickly followed up, “But you know that. Just decide quickly. For my sake.”

Jaebum resigned, leaning back into his chair. “Very well.”

Seulgi gave him a small smile, “Have a good day, Lord Im.”

~

Jinyoung was busy walking away from the kitchen, where he knew Jackson was about to go looking for Youngjae and himself. 

They hadn’t meant to rile up Coco like that. The small cloud was so small, that Jinyoung felt he couldn’t help but roll her around in his hands— but the puppy did not like that. At all. She had bit him, making Youngjae drop her from the sudden movement. Then she took off.

Jinyoung still felt his stomach tighten when he thought back to how coldly Lord Im had looked at him— but the contrasting warmth he saw in the towns’ head counsellor, Miss Kang's, gaze had kept him from breaking on the spot. 

He had only seen Miss Kang in passing when he visited the university— the constant assistance she received from the few other counsellors that flocked her had made him keep his distance as much as possible, but that didn’t keep him from being curious about the usually icy lady. 

Seeing her in such close proximity had been a reminder of how influential Lord Im supposedly is. If he could have personal one on one meetings with the counsellors of the highest ranking, he must have a good amount of power he could wield over Jinyoung, if need be. 

The thought made Jinyoung shiver, and he didn’t realize where he had been walking until he arrived at the front entrance. He glanced at the spot where he had placed the letter the night before and bristled when he saw it gone. He tried to remember if Jackson had already gone to town, a sense of dread inkling up his insides as he thought of the possibility that someone would have taken it and thrown it out. Wendy hadn't seemed off this morning, and he felt she would have if she had to lie to him. But that didn’t cross her out as a potential subject of ratting him out the the master. 

He was thinking for a moment over if he should go through the trash in order to make sure it wasn’t disposed when he heard footsteps enter the room. He turned and saw Miss Kang and her steely assistant make their way to the front door, Jackson in pursuit. 

The way she walked with such confidence and regal aura made Jinyoung stutter in his thoughts over whether he should bow as she got closer to him. Should he apologize again for the behaviour? Does she even remember his face? Would this affect badly on his family name? Wait, why would she even know his name? 

“Jinyoung, is it?”

He quickly realized he had been unwittingly staring at the approaching counsellor, and quickly straightened up and bowed his head a little, hoping it was respectful but not too quick and eager. “Ah, yes, Miss Kang, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She said. Her eyes bored into his, and there was a moment where he thought she was reading his soul, and the split second of silence made him question if he should now apologize to her again. But before he could start forming the words in his mouth, she asked him a question.

“Have I seen you before?” She searched his features, “Are you a student?”

He swallowed for a moment as he processed her question. He spent a lot of time there to drop off his ‘commissioned’ work. He knew he saw her there a lot, but he didn’t realize she saw him a lot. He briefly wondered if it was worth it to lie, to say he was a student or some other actual position at the university. But, once again, he couldn’t find an answer before she was speaking again in realization.

“Oh! Park Jinyoung, as in the Jinyoung who writes the papers.”

Shock. That’s what made him freeze and suddenly panic when he realized she knew about his work— no one with ANY title should know what he does, he had no idea what the consequences were if his clients were ratted out. He quickly delved to deny that.

“Ah— No— That’s not me— I’m not a student— I don’t—“

She shushed him and turned to Irene, who handed her a small slip of paper. She turned back around and handed it to him. “There’s no need to be worried, I understand. It’s no secret that those bratty rich kids don’t do their own work, and there’s not much anyone can do about it. You’re in the clear— I’ve just heard a lot about you, and I’ve read a couple of your essays.” She laughed a little at his confusion, “You have a very distinct style, so its easy to tell when someone has used your work. You’re very intelligent.”

He sure didn’t feel intelligent not knowing what to say during this whole exchange. He was able to muster out a small, “Thank you.”

She smiled, “Just, keep that in mind for the next semester— or, unless you’re staying with…” Her face lit up, “Oh! That’s why you're here. Thank god, he finally realizes.”

“That’s a relief.” Irene muttered, and while Jinyoung was surprised at the sass coming from the assistant, Seulgi only laughed.

“Yes, it is.” She said, and pointed to the paper she handed him, “If you ever would like to work for the house, I could always fit you in somewhere. It might not be a higher up position, but it’s better than writing for fake academics. I’ve actually always wanted to meet your acquaintance, but I never got around to it.” 

Jinyoung looked at the paper and then to Miss Kang, “Oh, um, thank you so much. I really appreciate it, I—“ 

“Don’t thank me. You’re too talented to be doing what you were doing. And once you’re done here, if you ever are, feel free to visit me.” She smiled and bid him a good day, before whisking out the door that Jackson had to scramble to get.

The door shut with a soft click and Jackson turned right around, staring at him with wide eyes.

“How did you do that?”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i realized i have some continuity problems in the last chapters when i re read everything lmao i changed jacksons hair colour halfway through unexpectedly because he changed it irl. sorry about that. i thank u all in advance 4 the feedback


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the day was uneventful. The Lord had hidden away in his wing, and didn’t emerge all the while Jinyoung was exploring the rest of the house that morning. 

He didn’t really have the urge to see him.

After the Coco incident, Jinyoung didn’t really know what to think of how the counsellor had approached him. He thought it was a wonderful coincidence and an amazing opportunity, had he been able to take it. 

But after two whole days of moping around the estate, mulling over his situation in agony, he grew tired of it. He decided to let his feelings go for a moment and truly explore the property on his own. 

Searching for a way to get his mind off things, Jinyoung found himself in an area of the manor that he had not seen yet— opposite to the garden entrances. As he walked down a flight of stairs, he realized that it was an entire level that was attached to the north side of the house. At the bottom of the staircase were two big doors, dark and foreboding.

For a moment he stopped. He did have an inkling of suspicion that he wasn’t supposed to be here— after all, Youngjae and Jackson hadn’t shown him this side. He remembered a soft warning that this is where their master lurked when he wasn’t tasked with official business, but he snuffed that warning bell in his head by following his curiosity and pulling on the handles. 

The door wasn’t as creaky as he figured it would be, but instead swung open with ease and silence. 

The room was very bright.

And full of books. 

So many books, the shelves went all the way up ten feet, met a walk way, then went up another fifteen. The room had no corners, with a nice sitting area in the middle, and windows dotted the sides leading to a huge window that provided light for the entire room on the opposite side of the doors. 

Jinyoung’s jaw dropped as he walked further in, his eyes widening as he took in the countless leather-bound collections. He passed by them all, lightly passing his hands along them, not even reading the titles but simply taking in their presence. 

He never had a library. Nor had he ever had access to one of this size— it was comparable to the Universities. He had only had access to Mr. Parks bookstore, the texts that the students had thrown at him to research with, and the tiny collection of fictional books his mother left him.

He strode over to the other side, taking in the sights from the huge window. 

He knew they were somehow on a hilltop, but he didn’t realize that it was nearly a mountain, and that this side of the manor overlooked nearly the whole valley.

It was breathtaking really. 

He stared out the window for a while. Looking past the trees, trying to see how far his eye could reach, he realized he never dreamt of leaving his village. He never thought about what could lie farther than the Kingdom. Sure, he read about these places, but it had never occurred to him how small his world really was in reality. 

Yet, he thought as he took a step back from the window, it feels like he has all the information at his fingertips right now. 

He strolled along the bookcase closest to him, reading the titles fleetingly. They were all geography books, organized by alphabetical order. He pullled out a soft, leather bound book and flipped through the coloured pages. This book alone would have cost an arm and a leg to buy from Mr. Parks store, and he quickly put it back, suddenly not trusting his own hands to be handling such a treasure. 

Walking about the room, he quickly located the fiction, pulling out a book from his favourite author and flipping through the pages while making his way to a chair in the sun. He sunk down into the cushions and started on chapter one. 

The afternoon went by quickly after that. 

the sun had made its way across the room, and it was just reaching the point where its rays had passed Jinyoung completely. With the heat gone, he shivered for the first time, and noted the coldness seeping into the tip of his nose. 

He contemplated switching chairs to one of the ones that was in the fading sun, but he decided he left his mark on this one so much that he didn't want to move. 

He wouldn’t mind a blanket however. 

He got up, putting the book on the small table beside the chair, and quickly made his way out of the library and across the manor into his own room.

He grabbed the closest one to the door, hanging off the chaise and rushed out.

Returning with his newfound warmth, he wondered if he would be able to stop by the kitchen and get something to eat in time for him to get to a still-warm seat. 

He walked past the kitchen, however, having done the math and figured it would be easier to wait until dinner time to eat. He mused if the staff would allow him to sit with them for another meal, and he wondered if they would object to him always eating his meals with them.

Their banter and their company was more than enough for him to consider forgoing their masters presence at the dining table. As insufferable as he was, Lord Im’s lack of presence throughout the day made he wonder about his matters. 

Jinyoung liked to imagine that the Lord simply sat in his room the entire day, wallowing in his moodiness and staring into the fire. Since he had the counsellor to attend all his official matters, Jinyoung doubted he lifted a finger besides to sign documents he didn’t bother to read. 

No wonder all the books in the library were covered in dust. 

He slipped through the opening of the doors and quickly made his way back to the chair, sighing as he climbed into it and tucking his feet under himself. It was still warm.

Flipping through to the page he marked off, he laid his head on the side of the chair and tried to find where he left off.

“That was my mothers chair.”

Jinyoung snapped the book shut and tensed up in surprise, looking across the room at the voice. 

Of course it was Lord Im, standing there with his eyes locked out the window. Just like Jinyoung imagined he did. The tension was rolling off of him through his shoulders and jaw, and he panicked, wondering if he did something wrong.

Rushing into the room in order to get back to his reading position, Jinyoung hadn’t noticed the silent figure in the corner. But who would? He was nearly completely concealed in the shadows, leaning against the bookcase on the other side of the window. 

The symmetry made Jinyoung nervous. He was glad the blanket provided him some protection from Lord Im’s gaze— if he would look at him, anyway. 

His mind running with many thoughts at once as he realized he might have not been allowed here in the first place. But he didn’t recall any warnings, and it’s not like Lord Im made it a point to try to keep him in his room. Not to his knowledge anyways. 

He briefly wondered if he should stand as well. The man across from him didn’t seem malicious when he made that statement, but if it was implied that Jinyoung was crossing a boundary, sitting there after his indication would be a impertinent choice. 

Jinyoung moved to stand, an apology on his lips when the Lord spoke once more. 

“What are you reading?”

Lord Im turned to look at him, and Jinyoung sunk back into the chair.

“Um.” Jinyoung was suddenly embarrassed. He didn’t think he needed to disclose his love of Jane Austen to anyone worthwhile, and he picked it out of habit. Suddenly he wanted to bolt out of the room as fast as possible; but he sucked it up and answered him anyways. He figured now wasn’t the time to wallow in his shame. “Jane Austen.”

To his surprise, and a little bit discomfort, all the Lord supplied was a soft hum, no indication of patronization to be found. 

“Is she good?”

Jinyoung was appalled. Not many of her works went into print due to the sheer fact that her writing style was considered, well, boring. Her characters were not heroes in the conventional sense, and the day to day retellings were honest in itself, but not something the mainstream reader would want to indulge in.

They were feminine books, and not something at all that Jinyoung thought Lord Im would have in his library without having an opinion on. 

Jinyoung almost thought the was a test. Maybe he was fooling him into confessing his love for these books to use against him to humiliate him. 

“I— um— yes.” He cursed at himself for stuttering, “Well, I think so.” 

Lord Im looked unaffected.

Jinyoung hoped he did too— inwardly, he was screaming.

This silence was killing him, and he guessed he was soon going to be told to get out. Lord Im’s patience probably was running thin with him in the room, and Jinyoung didn’t have it in him this time to get into another row.

He should probably take ahold of this opportunity. 

Feeling like staying seated was a disadvantage, Jinyoung got up and placed the blanket down, running his hands through his hair and placing his hand behind his back.

“I— uh,” He began, and trying not to be affected by the others attention on him. “I want to apologize for yester— last night. I was… out of line.”

“Not really.”

Jinyoung made eye contact, astonished. “What?”

Lord Im looked back out the window, inhaling and turning away, trying to hold the slightest blush on his cheeks, “You were in the right. I shouldn’t have treated you or your brother the way I did.”

That was unexpected. 

“Uh, thank you. For apologizing.” Jinyoung was inwardly screaming even louder. This man wasn’t supposed to apologize, he was supposed to sneer and take his own apology with a grain of salt. Jinyoung gnawed at his lip. Why the sudden change?

“As for your brother, you needn’t worry about him. He’s been taken care of.”

Jinyoung’s head snapped back at him, his stomach dropping, “What?”

He held his breath as the man looked back at him again, his face suddenly registering the implications of his words, “No, no, thats not what I meant,” he rushed out, “I mean, he’s provided for. I… I heard your concerns for him, and you don’t need to worry about him. He's took care of.” 

Jinyoung let out his sigh. “Oh. Oh, well…” He nodded his head, realizing his brother is fine, “Thank you. I didn’t realize…”

“Its fine. It’s the least I can do.”

There was an uncomfortable silence again. Jinyoung thought his confession through, and his head spun. 

“Does this mean… theres no ill feelings between us now?”

Lord Im nodded. Jinyoung stared at him.

The harshness that he always carried in his face all the other times he had encountered him with had melted. There was still the coldness in his eyes, but now his expression was softer with the apology. Sweeter, almost.

Jinyoung blinked. 

“So… Does this mean… I can… Go back home?”

Lord Im stared at him some more, mulling over his question. If there was no ill matters between them, why should he still be here? The answer should be simple, but, there was a stretch of time that it took before he answered. Jinyoung could hear his own heartbeat.

“You could.” 

Jinyoung felt elated for a second. Going home was something he didn’t realize was an option so soon, but the tone of his voice indicated there was more, so he schooled his outward appearance. 

“You could…” Lord Im continued, “But, I would like you to stay.” He started to move forward, “I would like to offer you to stay, and your brother would be taken care of, for as long as you decide to stay here. I understand your situation at home isn’t the best one, so in exchange for your residence, your brother will be provided for with food, shelter, and whatever he may need.”

Jinyoung was still. This was a loaded offer. “Why do you need me here?”

Lord Im looked away again, eyes trailing over the room, “You have skills that would offer me assistance, if your work at the university tell me anything.” His gaze rested on him again. "I would also like companionship.”

The young man nearly choked. The implications were almost inappropriate, but Lord Im followed it up, clearing his words at his reactions.

“Not much, just,” He took a breath, “Just have dinner with me. Each evening. It’s not a lot, and hopefully we would be able to grow—“ He searched for the word. “Closer.”

This offer was very unusual to Jinyoung. He didn’t know what to make of it, and he averted his eyes as he felt the pressure of his gaze nearly overwhelm him as the other continued talking. 

“I know this is a request that would take some time to consider. But you could go home. I would send Jackson with the carriage as soon as dinner time, and you could be on your way, not bothered by anything that happened here for the rest of your life, or,”

Lord Im hesitated, “You could be provided for, here, with your brother at home provided for as well. It would be like a position on my staff, and I will pay you with support as long as you decide to stay. The choice is yours.” The Lord let out a breath, and he stepped away. “You have until this evening to decide. Jackson will be outside in the front, and I’ll be in the dining room at the usual time. You can let me know then. There will be no hard feelings.”

The man turned and started walking away, Jinyoung still standing there, looking out the window as the sun set over the hills, a burning orange now covering the room. 

“And Jinyoung,”

He tilted his head towards him.

“Your brother got your letter. Don’t worry about that.”

And he was gone.

~

Jinyoung stayed in the library for the next few hours, not reading, just sitting in the same spot and fingering at the pages. 

He had wanted to go back home so badly for the past few days, and now that he has the simple option, he hesitated. 

The offer was kind. Much kinder than the one that he was given on that night, with a steely gaze and cold cellar. 

He wondered if the counsellors visit had anything to do with his sudden change of heart. 

Jinyoung snorted. Turns out he has one to change. 

He got up, the sun had set, and he knew it was time. 

Bringing the book with him, he made his way back to his own room, the halls awfully quiet for this time of night. 

He placed the book back down in his room, the soft white of his bed made up again, and a glass of water on his nightstand. He drank it, and he felt the ebbing headache from not ingesting anything from that morning fade away, and his stomach growled. 

He placed the water carefully down, along with the book. 

He made his way to the front entrance. 

Opening one of the large doors, he peeped out, and watched as Jackson, just as Lord Im said, tighten the reigns on the horse in front of the carriage. He had on his riding cloak, and smoothed his hand all the way down his neck. 

But all Jinyoung did was close the door softly, and walked to the middle of the lobby. 

This whole time here had been not unpleasant— save for the moments with Lord Im. He saw no reason beside the last encounter that him staying would change any of the ways he treated him. His two sides were unpredictable, but his offer was on the side that he just met. 

If he was going to be different like he had just seen, then his decision was set. There was no guarantee that it would going to be that way for the rest of his stay too.

But he looked at the place on the small table that once held his letter for a few moments, and then turned to head towards the dining room. 

Youngjae was standing outside, leaning against the wall, and when he heard his footsteps he looked up and immediately stood up straight more in surprise rather than manners. 

“Good evening, Jinyoung.”

He smiled, “Good evening Youngjae.”

Youngjae smiled back and went to open the door for him, but paused and looked back at Jinyoung, pondering for a moment. Jinyoung raised his eyebrows.

“He didn’t think you would come, you know.”

Jinyoung just smiled softly, “Yesterday I don't think I would have either.”

Youngjae smiled and nodded and pushed the door open.

“Park Jinyoung is here.”

Jinyoung heard the scrape of a chair being pushed as he walked in, and saw Lord Im stand up straight, a hand on the table and another smoothing his jacket, looking expectedly at Jinyoung. 

He nodded and walked over to the seat set up with a place intended for him pulling out the chair, and smiled softly at the other, who only stared at him.

Jinyoung cleared his throat and settled in his seat. “I’m starved.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a review! i thanked y'all in advance and you made me look like a fool. 
> 
> i also caved and searched twitter to see if anyone talking about this fic and lmaoooo I'm sorry I'm not updating fast ahhaahhahahahahaha
> 
> but here it is now and you get what u get, continuity and grammar mistakes and all xoxo


	8. Chapter 8

Jinyoung swallowed the roast beef, relishing how soft it was. The closest thing he had ever eaten to Yeri’s cooking was when he got the leftovers from some fancy event at the university, when one of the professors took pity on him as he watched what the chefs were throwing away.

He guesses it was delicious anyway. The shame had tainted the pot pie he was given, from what he remembers. 

But now he thanked Joy as she took the dish away, giving her a smile and enjoying the one she gave back. It was a more pleasant interaction with the maid than any of the other ones, so he took it as a win for the day. 

Settling his napkin back down on the table, he turned his attention back to the Lord, who said nothing as a dessert plate was placed in front of him. Watching curiously, the Lord silently took the whipped cream and strawberries and started eating without hesitation. Jinyoung found himself resisting a smile. 

From the past three nights, he had never seen Lord Im refuse dessert, and, in fact, more often than not, opting to leave some of the main course in order to save room for dessert. He had no idea why he was under the impression that the noble would have an aversion to sweet things— when in fact it seemed he would rather eat straight cake for dinner more than anything else. 

When he had brought it up with Yeri the day before, merely out of pure observation and curiosity, she had giggled and teased him for watching so closely. Before he could let the burn of embarrassment take over to make him defend himself, she had told him he has taken only dessert as dinner before— quite a few times actually.

This information made him unreasonably happy. The contrast between a sweet-loving man and the one who sat next to him, he found fascinating. 

The past few days had built up a familiarity between them. Jinyoung would actually arrive first, before Lord Im entered and took his place. As soon as they were settled, the first course would be served, and Lord Im would ask him about his day, and Jinyoung would answer and ask about his. 

It was very minimal small talk, and, albeit still retaining some awkwardness, it made the dinners more bearable than simply silence, which was what Jinyoung feared the first night after he had sat down. 

He found out the Lord usually takes to his study during the day, “attending to official business" as he puts. He never divulges the details, and Jinyoung leaves it at that, never pushing for him to give him more information. He figures its classified. 

But the Lord also spends time in the stables, tending to his horses and other animals. He also brought this up with Yeri, and she replied that he was the only one who took care of the animals— none of the staff was actually allowed in the stables.

Jinyoung talks about the books he’s read, the time he spends in the garden, and sometimes the times he spends with the staff. He finds that Lord Im is actually a little taken aback from how close he is with the servants, but doesn’t say anything against it, only taking things with small nods to show he’s listening. He also finds that the noble has no idea who any of the authors he talks about are. You would figure a noble would know the authors that fill their own personal library, but he really seemed to have no clue who he's ever mentioning. 

But past that, he found the Lord to be mostly socially awkward. He’s said some pretty patronizing things to him; regarding his class and his hobbies, but overall he’s been a pretty unpredictable human so far. Moody, yes. Mysterious, most defnintely. But decent. 

Until you anger him, Jinyoung supposes.

Which, thankfully, he hasn’t managed to do so far during these dinners. 

Jinyoung watched the door swing shut after Joy, and mulled over a question that appeared as the two girls took their dishes away. 

“Do you not want dessert?”

Jinyoung turned back and smiled quickly and politely, “Oh, no Lord Im, I just was thinking.”

The noble was silent for a moment, picking at what was left of his plate. He slowly wiped his mouth and placed the napkin back down, looking down at the fabric. “You can call me Jaebum.”

The younger man did not expect that. He didn’t realize that formalities were eventually going to be dropped— well, as companions, maybe it would have been eventually, but he didn’t expect so soon. He assumed that Lord Im would want it to be as distant as possible— but even he should have guessed given the circumstances he was here under. The eventual tasks he had in mind for him. 

“Oh. Well then, Jaebum.” The first name almost felt too familiar to say out loud for this man. Like an old friend. An old, rich, awkward friend. “The dessert is always great." He leaned forward on his hand, curious and little bit more confident now. "I was just wondering where you found Yeri— she’s so young but a lovely cook.”

Lord Im, or, Jaebum, looked at him with an unreadable gaze, before turning it forward, “She was recommended to me by Seulgi.” He thought for a moment, “Actually they all were. I usually don’t doubt her suggestions. They’ve all turned to be loyal and competent, despite wherever they came from.” He shrugged, “Save for Mark. He’s been with me for as far as I can remember. His father used to work in the gardens as well.”

Jinyoung actually knew that— there wasn’t a time when Mark wasn’t mentioning his late father. The love he had for the man was admirable. 

He poked around his plate before taking a strawberry and eating it, realizing the dinner had filled him up already, and any more would make him sluggish. As he chewed slowly, he glanced in Jaebum’s direction, only for his gut to jump as he made eye contact with him. 

He was staring so intently he felt like he did something wrong, and he only could think that he was doing some kind of table manner taboo. He put his fork down, suddenly self conscious. 

But all Jaebum did was reach across the table and take his plate, and finishing it for him. He took a bite and said lowly, “If you feel full just say so.” 

This man, Jinyoung mused, just keeps finding ways to surprise me. Jaebum looked at him for a moment, then he lowered his eyes. 

There was a moment of tension. 

Then he went back to eating.

“You have something on your face.”

Jerking a little, Jinyoung grabbed his napkin and wiped his mouth, embarrassed once again. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you have an aversion to strawberries?”

It was a question, but his tone didn’t suggest an answer. Jinyoung leaned back into his chair.

“Strawberries are fine. I prefer peaches, however.”

His eyes met Jaebums, and the noble didn’t give a reaction. He only took another bite.

~

“It’s just, unconventional.” 

Wendy laughed in Youngjae’s face, snatching the tablecloth from his hands to place it on the dining room table, “That’s an awfully big word.”

“Shut up.” He snagged the other half and worked with her to place it smoothly. 

Their subjects had just finished their dinner, and Wendy had found it hilarious that their master had taken Jinyoung’s share of dessert for himself, though the latter didn’t seemed phased by it. “Please, he’s probably infatuated with him. He probably watched him eat it before taking it away from him so he wouldn’t think anything inappropriate by watching him.”

Youngjae hissed at her, “Shut up! They could hear you.” But he couldn’t deny the tension rolling between them. Or could he? He didn’t know. It’s always too hot in the room. He really can’t read people. “What do you even know about anything? Didn’t you grow up in a convent?”

Wendy snorted, “Oh please, we have eyes and ears. Nuns are much dirtier than you think. It’s all that gossiping and pent up sexual frustration.”

“Can you—“

“NO I can’t.”

“God.”

“Don’t use his name in vain, my brother.” She teased.

Youngjae glared at her and placed the candelabra on the table with a thunk. “I do find the whole situation weird, but I understand that sometimes a man needs a companion.”

“In the sheets maybe.” 

Youngjae threw his hands up in the air, “Stop! Our master wouldn’t be the kind to be that way.”

“How do you know?” 

“Remember his time abroad?” Youngjaes voice lowered, “A few months ago he mentioned something about his escapades when he took too much wine one night.” He paused, staring off into space, “That was actually pretty scary.”

“I heard.”

“From who?”

“No, I heard. He was shouting by midnight, and then it was silent all of a sudden.”

Youngjae nodded, “He fell asleep in his study. He cut his hand on the wine bottle he threw.”

“What did he do when he woke up?”

“Pretended like nothing happened. I don’t even know if he knew in the first place. I think he forgot everything.” 

There was silence for a moment.

“Well I don’t believe that he only looks at women. Remember the other Youngjae?”

“His friend?”

“Yeah.”

Another moment of silence.

“WAIT HIM?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“The back stairwell. But this was years ago. Before his parents.”

Youngjae thought about this. “Wow, you’ve been here long.”

“Only third to Jackson and Mark.”

“I’m astonished.”

“Another big word! I’m so proud.”

“Why do you think I'm illiterate?” He complained, whipping the closest cloth at her.

Wendy finished her side and threw the dirty napkin back at him, “I’m just teasing! It’s that dumb smile you got on half the time. It’s so endearing. I just want to pick you up and carry you like a baby.”

His face heated up and rushed away as she cooed, snatching up the napkin that fell on the ground and walking out of the room, “Oh my god.”

She picked up her linen and hurried to follow him out. 

They made their way down the hallway, and Wendy piped up again.

“But it’s not my arms you want around you, carrying you, holding you, is it?”

She laughed but Youngjae grumbled. She looked at him again, this time softer. 

“Have you even spoken to him?”

He didn’t look at her, “Have you yours?”

“It’s a three year plan!”

“You’ve been here since you were 16! It’s like a ten year plan by now.” 

~

The library had a very extensive collection, Jinyoung found. He could find so many things about animals, mushrooms, the war, the plague, upholstery, a map of the new world, and, surprisingly, the occult. 

The latter he chose as his afternoon read, and he settled back down into the chair. He wrapped himself in the blanket, which has now made its permanent stay in the library for the past week. He spent more time here than he did in his own room. He feel asleep here a few nights before, actually.

Though his routine didn’t change that much- he just found himself spending all his free time in the bright room. He usually spent the mornings with Youngjae or Mark, following them along on their daily duties and helping when he can. He took to having tea in the servants wing as well, usually conversing with Yeri or Wendy, and surprisingly Joy once or twice. 

He liked to indulge in gossip with them, mostly concerning the other servants. Jinyoung was only a little surprised when Joy was the one who spilled about Wendy’s harboured crush for the manors’ butler, immediately delving into a detailed plan to get them finally together until Wendy broke it up by threatening to spill dinner on Lord Im and ruin his “dates with the master”. That small comment shut him up, but he couldn't help but hold back laughter from Wendy’s obviously ruffled feathers. 

Though he didn't let that small observation Wendy made go to rest in his mind for the rest of the day. Jinyoung still ate dinner religiously with the Master, or Jaebum, as he had grown to call him at his request. Every night he expected Jaebum to give him orders to do something. He didn't know what. Just something. 

A couple of times he had caught him almost wandering into the library, but before he could call him out, he was gone. Like a shadow. 

He wondered why he never spent any time with his extensive and elaborate collection. He had mused that maybe he had read all of them already. But another, more sentimental part of him believed that he couldn’t because of his mother. He had mentioned her once, and her absence seemed to take a toll on him from the softness that had entered his eyes when he spoke of her, even in that brief moment. 

Nevertheless, it was rounding on week two of their nightly routine, and he had yet to give him any indication to what he wants with him here. 

He had never made any more conversation than small talk about their days. Even when Jinyoung decided to observe him more than usual, he never noticed anything different in his body language. Though he didn’t know what he would be looking for in his demeanour anyway. 

The only time he found his actions out of the ordinary, he found, was that night with the strawberries. So every time they had that after dinner (which was almost every night) he would eat a few berries, pretend he’s full, and then push it over to his side. 

The first couple of times, he saw it confused Jaebum a bit. If anything, he was embarrassed. But after a few times of this action, Jaebum had begun to expect it. 

Jinyoung felt like he was bribing a toddler with the way he tried bonding over the sweets. 

He figured he wasn’t getting anywhere with this tactic, but it was amusing to him how the Lord indulged in these moments, behaving almost out of character. He had decent table manners, Jinyoung figured with his limited knowledge, but he engulfed the dessert like a madman. 

While the master would eat, Jinyoung would slyly watch him out the corner of his eye, sipping at the tea usually provided at the end of the meal. 

Tonight was no exception. 

Jinyoung smiled to himself and looked to place the cup down as Jaebum ate another spoonful.

“Are you amused?”

Jinyoung glanced at him in surprise, and Jaebum made this snorting sound.

“You smile to yourself every so often when you give me your dessert. Do you want me to request something different?”

“No, not at all” The scholar rushed out. He didn’t know what to follow it up with as Jaebum stared at him eyes piercing and dark. Though Jinyoung supposed they weren’t unkind. “I’ve been wondering something.”

The Lord settled back into his seat softly, indicating for him to go on with a nod of his head, “Please.”

Taking a breath and a moment for him to collect his words, he asked, “What was it you had in mind for me? Do you have a task that I could help you with?” Jinyoung was afraid that it might be so direct, and maybe he was waiting to tell him until the right time. Maybe Jaebum would find him too curious, and would dislike him asking. But sitting around for almost two weeks with the noble has him almost— dare he even think it — bored. 

And aside from a blink, Jaebum was still. Jinyoung inwardly cursed himself, thinking his suspicions were true and now he was upset with him until he spoke.

“Oh. Well I was waiting until you seemed comfortable with me enough to spend the amount of time with me that the task requires. But, if you are asking now, I assume we have reached that level of familiarity.”

Jinyoung blinked back, only in surprise. “Well,” He began, “I would like to think we have, after nearly two weeks of dinner dates.” Oh shoot. Was that appropriate?

For the first time, however, Jinyoung heard his laugh. It was short, almost like a bark, but he cracked a smile at his remark and it seemed like the tension that might have been there was vanquished in that moment.

“I suppose you are right.” Jaebum continued, wiping his mouth and starting to gather himself to leave. “Fine. We will begin tomorrow. Ten a.m. sharp, in my study wing. I assume you know where it is?”

Jinyoung watched him walk towards the door for a moment as he processed his words. He felt his face heat up when he realized why he really knows where his study was. He scurried to get up and follow, “Yes, I do.”

The Lord stopped just outside the room suddenly, making Jinyoung stop as well, and gazed back at him. “If you do get lost, you could always ask Coco.”

There was a moment of quietness before it clicked. 

A joke. That was a joke. Jinyoung huffed out a laugh when he realized this after a split second, but when he went to retort, Jaebum was already gone. 

Standing dumbly in the middle of the room and staring after him made Jinyoung feel a little underwhelmed. His thought process that he went through when it came to Im Jaebum felt like it was useless when he surprised him with things like this. His humor. His humanity. The things that make him tick, however, he has yet to encounter. Save from the first night, he realized he hasn’t seen the master of the houses wrath. It was enough to keep the staff on their toes most of the time, but he has been almost—

He looked at the leftover strawberries on the table.

Sweet. Sweet to him. In a way that no one has. He wasn’t sure if what he had in mind for him tomorrow would change his demeanour, but for now, he figured he should enjoy this side of him.

For all he knew, there could, and most likely was, a beast that lies within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow, Today, am I right? its great.
> 
> But here we are, now delving into an actual plotline! I guess we will now see sparks fly n all dat bullshit. Thanks for reading! :)<333333333333333


	9. Chapter 9

The morning came, and Jinyoung woke up without any of the staff popping into his room. He quickly got ready, anticipating what lay behind those oak doors for him. It would be just him and Jaebum together for most of the day, and whatever activities the lord had planned for them. 

Just thinking that they would be working together had him nervous. He had thought a little bit too hard last night about what would come, and his mind had traveled to some odd areas that he would rather not think about while in the Lords presence. Intrusive thoughts should have no place in his mind if he were to get through this day with ease. 

The corridors were quiet, the only sounds of life were behind closed doors of the workers who worked efficiently and softly to get breakfast ready for the manor before the rise of their employer. 

Jinyoung slipped into the kitchen, and Yeri, who was watching over the stove, quickly took notice of his presence and waved at him.

“Good morning Jinyoung.” Her smile warm enough to provoke the scholar to smile back, “You’re up early.”

He gave back in an affirmative hum. This only made the kitchen girl look at him smugly.

“Excited for the day?” 

Jinyoung’s face grew a little red, but he didn’t look at her. He was, obviously, but he had no idea why it was something that Yeri took to tease him for. He scrunched up his face in distaste for her attitude. 

She just laughed at his expression,”Well, I would ask if you would be hungry but Lord Im asked that breakfast be served for the two of you this morning in his office.” She turned back to the stove, tending to the sausage sizzling on her pan, “You’re a little early, so I could give you some bread. He should be getting up in about an hour, normally.”

Jinyoung approached his station, “I’m not too hungry. I can wait the hour— I could help if you would like?” 

After Yeri’s flat out refusal that he do any work, she shooed him out of the kitchen, and Jinyoung was left with an hour to kill before having to report to Jaebum’s office. He walked up the hallway and into another wing of the manor, until he found his way into the garden once again. 

Knowing Mark usually woke up early to tend the gardens, he wandered around to look for him through the hydrangeas. The colours were breathtaking in the morning sun. Unnatural almost. It was a colourful mix that Jinyoung liked to just look at. Mark usually tended to the irises the most, but Jinyoung had asked to do work more on these. 

He found Marks tools scattered about, and he looked at the ground before wandering further into the garden. He heard voices further by the roses, and he went to follow, but when he started the make out the words, he froze before slowly getting closer.

“You heard what I said?”

Mark’s voice was as soft as ever, and he didn’t sound calm. A frustrated Youngjae voiced a grunt before harshly whispering.

“Wendy told me.” 

“Wendy?”

“I made her tell me. Do not get angry with her.” 

Theres this heavy silence that blankets over the two. Jinyoung can feel the tension, and he knows he should back away and find something else to keep him busy, but his curiosity got the better of him. 

Well, nosiness. He didn’t know that Mark had confessed, let alone he was taking back his words around other people. 

The silence was too much however, he had held his own breath before Youngjae broke it.

“Well?” He heard Youngjae shift. He was calmer now, nervous. 

“Well what? What do you want me to say? You’re just standing there as if you expect something.”

The words were harsh, and Jinyoung had never heard Mark sound like that. He didn’t know if he should. He quickly backed away from the scene, softly, as to not interrupt the silence that came over the hedge. He made his way back to the scattered tools and picked one up, trying to appear busy right before Youngjae appeared, brushing past him with a tense “Good morning Jinyoung.” and a tight smile as he went back inside. 

Jinyoung looked after him for a moment before looking to where he came from, watching as Mark made his way out, a grim look on his face. He didn’t seem to notice Jinyoung until he was right in front of him. 

Quickly looking away Jinyoung tended to the bush, but he felt that made it obvious that he overheard something. So he took a breath and then made an offhand comment about the dew of the morning. 

Luckily Mark seemed to appreciate the change of subject, and easily slipped into a delicate conversation for the next hour. 

~

The door was big and foreboding, and Jinyoung stood there allowing the thoughts and doubts to cloud his mind. He wondered if he made the right choice by deciding to stay here.

Bambam had been sending him responses in barely legible writing from Yugyeom. Apparently, there actually had been people showing up to give him supplies like food and clothes and hunting equipment. He still thought that Jinyoung should have come home, but Jinyoung knew that he knew that this was his final decision.

Was it?

Jinyoung’s mind had crossed many ideas to what his position would be in this household since his decision to stay. The sound of the word companion made Jinyoung uncomfortable in a way that made him shake his head to rid the thoughts that came with the mention of it. 

The male students back at the university threw that term around for the ladies that waited for them at home, and sometime they were brought to parties as guests to “liven up” an event for the group of scholars. The fact that Jaebum had used the word briefly when he first propositioned he stay for good had made Jinyoungs heart jump in the scandal of his word. It had shocked him, but he knew that Jaebum hadn’t meant it in that way.

Not that he had imagine what it would be like-

“The door was unlocked, you could have just came right in.”

The oak doors gave away to the sight of the devil himself, and Jinyoung couldn’t help the burn that overcame his ears. Leave it to him to stand not he other side of the door, zoning out per usual when the lord could easily tell his presence was there. 

He nodded his head and brushed past when Jaebum took a step back to let him in.

The office looked a little messy since the last time he was there—no doubt Jaebum must have cleaned for the counsellors arrival. That thought alone made Jinyoung hold back a smile.

“Right over here.” Jaebum indicated to the desk, where two chairs had been conveniently placed. There was also an assortment of breakfast foods already placed at a separate side table. Jinyoung sat down at one side of the desk, and watched as Jaebum sat down as well, taking a few papers into his hand and looking them over intently. There was a quiet moment between the two of them as Jinyoung awaited instruction.

Jaebum handed him the small bundle of papers, “These,” He tapped at them in Jinyoungs hands, “read these aloud for me.”

Jinyoung nodded and looked over it quickly. It looked like some form of declaration about the upcoming spring market. Reading aloud was something he could do fairly easily. He was used to doing so for Yugyeom whenever they received letters and fines, mostly due to Yugyeom’s inability to judge what properties were free range versus private. But this isn’t what he expected when Jaebum asked for his help. Jinyoung wondered if this was to mislead him until the lord whipped out some insanely diffusely task for him to complete for the day. 

But that didn’t happen. He read the declaration, and while he did Jaebum fixed a breakfast plate, and placed it in front of him. Jinyoung paused for a second, but the other man motioned for him to continue reading and eat at the same time. He fixed his own plate and sat down, listening to him closely. 

After he was done, Jaebum asked him to scribe what he wanted the declaration to say, making edits and having Jinyoung write them down in ink. 

This went on for the time being, Jinyoung writing and reading for Jaebum, not really much else said between them. Youngjae and Yeri came in to clean their breakfast after some while, and left. When they came back to serve them their midday meal, Jinyoung was a little surprised at how he didn’t notice the time fly by so fast. 

A basket of bread was placed on the desk in front of them, and Jaebum accepted the soup from Yeri. The document they were working on was a tough one, the announcement too wordy for the public, and Jinyoung focused on the words before in as the other two left the room.

The papers disappeared from his hands, Jaebum plucking them and setting them aside.

“Eat. You need a break.” 

Jinyoung looked at Jaebum and then the soup, but reached back for the papers, “No, I’m about to make a breakthrough on this wording. I can’t stop now.” 

The papers suddenly slipped out of reach again as Jaebum moved them right beside him and out of Jinyoungs reach.

“You can pause.”

The room was quiet as the scholar stared at the man in disbelief, but slowly gave into his bidding as he took the spoon from the bowl and brought it to his mouth. 

The soup was delicious, but Jinyoung couldn’t focus on it from how hard Jaebum was staring at him as he ate. 

There was a solid moment of direct eye contact before the older seemed to realize his staring, snapping out of it before referring back to his own soup like nothing had happened.

Nothing had happened, right?

Jinyoung wasn’t sure.

The rest of the day went smoothly, and when the room turned pink from the sunlight was when Jaebum took the papers away and put them in a stack, ready to be sent out with Jackson the next day. 

“That should be it for today. We can continue tomorrow.”

Nodding, Jinyoung got up and stretched. Everything that happened today had not been too challenging, but it was enough to keep him preoccupied and not bored in the slightest. He figured his job was more of a glorified scribe than everything. 

Throughout the day he kept expecting the man to hit him with a chore that was way out of his way like a designated “companion” usually is. Those titles usually were bestowed upon someone who would keep near the rich men in his village. They weren’t usually looked upon favourably. And he really had no real interest in being one.

A man had propositioned him to be one, one of the students named Chanyeol. He was from one of the rather wealthier families and went to Jinyoung for his services once or twice. At first he was nice, too cocky for his own taste and a little too loud, but he was nice enough for him to agree to lunch a couple of times. 

But one day when they were on the road walking away from the university, he mentioned the word and Jinyoung immediately shut the conversation down. After that, he tried to avoid him and keep the relationship strictly professional. However, he couldn’t take a hint and pursued him far past what was considered appropriate.

Jinyoung stopped going to campus as often as he did. 

“I’ll see you at dinner tonight, go and relax.”

Jaebum was looking at him and Jinyoung gave him a brief smile.

“Ah yes, okay.” Giving him a nod Jinyougn started for the door, but Lord Im let out a cough. “Oh, are you okay?”

“Do you like your room?”

The question was small talk, but Jinyoung relished in the effort he constantly gave. It made it easier to stay and answer. “Yeah, its comfortable, I really appreciate it-“ Jinyoung snapped his mouth shut. He was about to mention it being better than the basement but he wasn’t sure if he would consider it inappropriate and take offense. 

He was pretty sure they weren’t there yet.

“I’m glad. If you require anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask Jackson.”

“He has been more than kind to me, thank you.”

Seeing the satisfaction on Jaebums face was nice. Jinyoung bid him a soft goodbye and left, seeking his room to stretch out and lay for a few minutes before getting up and readying himself for dinner.

The next few days passed the same way, Jinyoung waking up before making his way to Jaebums office. After a while he began to realize that this was where he retreated to every single day, immersing himself in his work all day, retiring to dinner then to his quarters. Jinyoung figured it must had been exhausting for him day after day with no one to help or talk to. 

Jinyoung really couldn’t help but wonder if the reason Jaebum needed this much help was what he guessed. It almost felt disrespectful to assume, considering his aristocratic background. 

However, everyday was the same. Jinyoung would read the documents out loud, then write for him. He did this for hours everyday, and even though the work was a little tedious, it kept them busy and immersed. Jaebum never read a document for himself, but he invested himself in every piece of paper that crossed his desk with the expected diligence of someone of his rank. 

Jinyoung pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, and did everything with the utmost effort. After all, Jaebum was the one providing for his brother and himself.

About a week into the work, Jaebum asked him to accompany him to a meeting. It was surprising to hear to request, as it didn’t come as a request, but more of an expectancy. 

“We will be sitting in a meeting with Seulgi and the rest of the council. You will be acting as my page. Please choose something suitable to wear, but do not try to match me.”

Which of course, Jinyoung had no idea how to do. He would need Jackson’s help again, which would be a little embarrassing to ask as he remembered the first time Jackson helped him with his clothes. After that, Jinyoung tried his best to wear what he thought appropriate for around the manor, mostly the more modest and plain coloured clothing that he could find and piece together. He wasn’t the best, once Jackson laughed out loud at what he was wearing when he walked into the kitchen, and Jinyoung made sure to pay extra attention to what Jaebum wore every day to see what would be seen as “fashionable”. He found out later that he was wearing a formal cravat with gardening jacket, and apparently that was enough to make Jackson scare Yeri with his laugh enough for her to drop the tray of muffins she was carrying.

Going to the boisterous man for something as simple as this would be a wound on his pride, but he would put up with it if it meant making Jaebum impressed. 

It was normal to want to impress your employer. You always wanted to look good when representing them. 

Right?

Either way, Jinyoung took this note that Jaebum gave him and went to find the butler. Instead, he found and ran into Youngjae in the hall near the entrance. 

“Oh, hello Youngjae.”

He turned around, comically surprised at Jinyoung’s appearance, but a smile slid over his features soon enough, “Oh! Jinyoung, you’re done early today.”

They actually had finished about an hour earlier than they usually did, so Jinyoung hummed and nodded, “Yes, he just informed me that I will be accompanying him to town tomorrow for a meeting. Do you know where Jackson is?”

Youngjae’s smile muted and he nodded tersely, “Ah, yes, he went with Mark to town actually. They should be back soon.” 

That’s when Jinyoung noticed that Youngjae was standing in front of the table with a clock on it, in the entrance, looking like he wasn’t doing much else. He didn’t want to react, but he couldn’t help but muse at how they would be getting on this past week after their (infamous, if Wendy’s gossip had anything to say about it) spat in the garden. He very much wanted to inquire about the state of their relationship, but Mark always refused to talk about it when he began on the subject and Youngjae always excused himself with tedious chores immediately. 

As much as Jinyoung would love to comment, all he did was look at the door and then back to Youngjae, who immediately flushed.

“Actually I was just checking for mail, from my sister,“ He said quickly, “I better get back to the kitchen, Coco needs to be fed.”

Not saying a word, he slipped away, much quicker than Jinyoung expected someone who was not caught waiting for someone would. 

But, true to Youngjae’s word, Jackson and Mark returned with goods from the market a few moments later, Jinyoung idling in a outside chair near the entrance when they rolled up with the cart. 

Immediately Jackson hopped out first and greeted him warmly, “All done with Lord Im today?”

Looking for the right words to ask Jackson for help was something that he was planning while sitting and waiting for his return. (But, as Jackson worked, you couldn’t really plan much without him interfering unintentionally) He cleared his throat. “Yes, I actually need help with— well, you see we’re going to town tomorrow and he just told me that I—“

Jackson put up his hand, “Say no more, I’ve been planning your outfit since he’s taken you on as a companion for this exact event.” Seeing his blushing face at being sought through, Jackson let out a laugh and clapped his back, “I’ve seen those pants you attempted to wear to dinner. There is no way I am letting you pick your own outfit again.”

Mark, who had been quiet throughout this entire exchange, let out his own high pitched laugh and Jackson joined. Immediately taking offence to their banter, Jinyoung twirled around and headed right back inside.

Jackson simply called after him that he would be in his room in the morning to help him, and all Jinyoung could muster up was a quick wave behind him. 

Making fun of him was uncalled for. But he knew it was not undeserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello all, thanks for sticking around. i've found the best way to get past writers block is to write whatever, even when you are unhappy with it. i eventually found something within this chapter that made me a bit happier to finish it and post (albeit without proofreading, please forgive)
> 
> happy valentines day! i love all u birds


	10. Chapter 10

The ride into town was much shorter than Jinyoung remembered. That night sometimes comes back to him while in bed. When that happens it forces Jinyoung to open his eyes and stare out the window of his room, trying to forget the ghost of the fear that grasped him that night.

This ride was not at all bad. They were silent most of the ride there, even breaths passed between the two of them. At one point Jinyoung was sure Jabeum had fallen asleep, but out of respect he made no further movement to inspect. Although he was sure he had almost fallen on his shoulder at least twice from nodding off. 

When they reached town, Jinyoung was thrilled to see the familiar carts and stalls lining the marketplace. They didn’t have time to stop, however, but Jinyoung enjoyed the simple presence of him being there all the while. 

The town hall stood menacingly over the street as they approached. Never had Jinyoung ventured past the doors, afraid that his clients would be exposed somehow if he were to make an appearance among their employers. He wondered if it even mattered anymore after Seulgis talk with him.

“Stay close behind me. I don’t want to lose you.”

Jaebums voice rang clear in his head. _Do not mess this up for me._

The mere tone of his voice was low enough to have Jinyoungs heart rate speed up a bit in anxiousness. Though when he looked back at Jackson, the man gave him an encouraging smile that did not match the tone of the situation.

After gathering the needed documents to show the other members of the board, the two of them headed inside, Jaebum leading the way through the halls with ease. 

Jinyoung was a bit nervous to run into anyone from the university, but he spotted no other students up until he got to the board room. 

Because of course the one man he hoped the most to be absent was sitting right next to Jaebums spot. 

Chanyeol was the one most likely to be seen there, Jinyoung had realized, Not wanting to create a situation with Jaebum present, however, Jinyoung did not mention his earlier issues that he had with the man, for fear of the lack of faith the Lord would take in him. Jinyoung desperately did not want to mess this up, considering how far he’s come as his companion. 

And even that word, Jinyoung thought, _companion_ had a strong insinuation, and he did not want the term to be brought up around anyone in the room. Jaebum seemed to throw the word around like rice, and this behaviour made Jinyoung stand on edge every time he was introduced.

But now that Chanyeol had taken notice of his presence, the look in his eyes made Jinyoung wish to the gods that Jaebum would choose his words carefully. 

The meeting adjourned without further notice. 

Throughout the entire duration Jinyoung was glad most paid no attention to him, Jaebum not even bothering to introduce him as he set about passing the documents around and explaining the details of each one. 

Chanyeol tried to be subtle with how his eyes raked Jinyoungs body, but his smile was anything but. Anyone with the slightest bit of facial perception could see the fire behind the mans eyes. For Jinyoung, the heat was a little bit too much to bear.

Thankfully when Jaebum sat back down, he blocked the vast view Chanyeol had of him. He let his breath slowly out, not wanting to seem phased, but now the entire excitement he had for this event went swiftly out the window as he stared at the clock, pushing it to go faster. 

Its excruciating when you have to wait for time. Jinyoung was so distracted, he almost did not notice Jaebum asking him to hand him the next set of documents to hand around. 

“Jinyoung.” 

He looked at him and the sudden embarrassment of not paying attention made his ears heat up and he rushed out an apology and brought out the papers to hand around. 

But now that attention was on him, one of the men at the table spoke up, “I apologize, Lord Im, but is this your new hand?” 

Jaebum seemed barely ruffled, but Jinyoung watched as his jaw slightly clenched, “Yes, he is my scribe of sorts. Jinyoung.”

The man across the table gave him a smile, “Ah, I see. I was going to say, this does not look like your handwriting, my lord, it is too neat.”

The table allowed themselves to chuckle at the slight jab, and Jaebum let out a good natured smile, albeit a little forced. Tolerant. 

“But it does look familiar. Jinyoung, are you perhaps a student here at the university?”

Having not been prepared to ask any questions, Jinyoung panicked a little, looking at Jaebum, who was looking at him.

Jinyoung cleared his throat to respond, but another beat him to it.

“He’s just a scribe, helps us at the university out more times than not, don’t you Jinyoung?”

The fact that Chanyeol had to audacity to respond for him, and then turn around and expect a response himself, threw Jinyoung for a loop. He hated being put on the spot, but due to the many powerful men staring at him right now, Jinyoungs mouth became dry and he glanced at Chanyeol, who was giving him a very steady stare in response, and he simply nodded.

The little exchange went unnoticed and uncared for from the rest of the table, as they moved on to the next subject with ease as Jaebum spoke up again, leading them into the contents of the document. 

When the rest of the meeting went without more attention given to him, Jinyoung let out a breath as they started packing up.

Jinyoung was placing papers into his bag, while Jaebum had final conversations with other members of the council. Mostly having to do with them thanking him for coming back and leaving Seulgi out of the meetings for the time being. 

Jinyoung was focused on listening to him reply, swiftly defending his cousin Seulgi’s abilities and successes while in his place with little to no hesitation. It was admirable. 

But his focus was too immersed in eavesdropping to his left that he barely noticed the presence come up on his right.

“What’s a bookworm like you doing scribing for Lord Im Jaebum?”

The comment felt almost slimy as he took it in. Bookworm being the nickname Chanyeol had dedicated to him when they were close, and it was one he never really took a liking to. It was more than a little condescending he found, but at the time Chanyeol was a welcome presence, so he tolerated it. 

Jinyoung finished placing the things in his bag and turned to look at the taller man.

“Good to see you too, mister Park.” He shouldered his bag and turned towards him, “It was a unconventional situation, but this opportunity was one I just could not pass up.” He wasn’t sure what he was doing saying this to Chanyeol, but he enjoyed the bit of disbelief that marked his features as he said this.

“But scribing for him?” Chanyeol moved a little closer, “You know you have talents much more than just reading and writing for the man.”

The way he said the words made Jinyoung’s stomach lurch, and Chanyeol saw that. The taller man reached forward and pet his bottom lip with his thumb, making Jinyoung freeze. They had breeched the touching level of their friendship very early in their time together, and this was a move that Chanyeol had pulled multiple times before Jinyoung realized his other intentions. The simple fact that he continued to make this movement, in a professional setting, where there were still lingering faces and _Jaebum_ , made Jinyoungs breath falter in the worst way.

Chanyeol withdrew his arm, and leaned his head closer, “Like I said before, Jinyoung, you would make a great companion. Does Jaebum know that?” He straightened up, still looking at him with taunting eyes, and said louder, “You must help Jaebum in many ways than one.”

The way his lips smirked snapped Jinyoung out of his frozen state and he took a much needed step back. He felt bile rise up in his throat, but, as always, before he could speak someone else spoke before him.

“Ah, yes, Jinyoung is a great asset to me.”

Jaebum appeared, but from the look on his face he had no idea what had just transpired. He looked at Chanyeol with a neutral look of interest. But the taller man simply nodded, his smirk turning into a smile as he bowed slightly and went to shake Jaebums hand. 

“Jaebum, long time no see. It’s great to see you getting help from such a bright young man. I would know, he is a great help to the university students around here, myself included.”

Jaebum sent back a smile smile, but it was more out of politeness than genuine feeling, Jinyoung could tell. “Trust me, I know more than you think. He makes a wonderful companion.”

There it was. Jaebum turned to smile a little more fondly at him, but Jinyoung took every ounce of self control not to study how Chanyeol reacted to that statement. Jaebum obviously did not understand how that word was taken within the professional and political community in the town. Jinyoung know Jaebum was out of touch, from what Seulgi and the rest of the staff had to say, but for him to just blurt it out in front of the very man who had pursued him not that long ago was almost a bomb of unwanted information floating around them right now. 

But Chanyeol did not follow up this statement with more words, only a small quirk of his brow and a quick look at Jinyoung. 

Jaebum paid no attention, “You can expect us at more assemblies from now on. Seulgi is getting a much needed rest right now, but she will be joining us after a few weeks.”

The two men continued to exchange pleasantries, and Jinyoung stood off to the side, not looking at either of them and hoping this meeting to be over and done with as quick as possible. Thankfully, Jaebum took notice of his idle standing and finished the conversation with a practiced grace. Chanyeol bid goodbye as well, turning to look at Jinyoung after Jaebum.

His eyes raked Jinyoungs body, and he met his eyes, “I hope to be seeing your companion as well, soon. Have a good day.”

He turned and took his leave, and Jaebum turned to look at him as well, eyeing him with, what Jinyoung could read, was a mild curiosity. Jinyoung chose to ignore the silent inquisition and cleared his throat. 

“Shall I go get Jackson to bring the carriage around?” 

~

As they waited outside for the carriage, Jinyoung felt Jaebums eyes looking at him, as if prodding a question he knew he was eventually going to ask once Jinyoung gave him any more attention. But, not wanting to discuss that at the moment, he nervously picked at the hem of his shirt, and kept his eyes firmly on the corner of the street, watching out for Jackson.

Unfortunately, Jinyoung heard a called out, “Have a good day!” From the lanky man who made Jinyoungs jaw clentch, and continued to do so with his extended presence. Thankfully Jaebum had taken it upon himself to respond, as the taller man made his way across the street after a few quick words, wishing them a good trip back. Jinyoung didn’t even bother to look.

“You know,” Jaebum began after a moment, eyes locked back on the younger after trailing the other man for a few seconds, “I had no idea you knew these people beforehand. It would have been nice to know.”

Jinyoung tensed, but did not look back at the man, “Oh, I didn’t know it would cause a problem, my lord.” He turned and looked back at him, trying to school is facial features to look unperturbed, “If it has, I apologize.”

Jaebum’s eyes searched his face, an eyebrow quirking slightly, but not saying anything at the moment. A few seconds passed, and then he spoke again, “Chanyeol and yourself seemed to be very close.”

Jinyoung couldn’t help the slight frown that appeared on his face, his annoyance seeping through his inclination to cooly disregard the subject. He let out a small, “Seemingly.” before Jackson rounded the corner with the carriage, prompting the end of their conversation.

Jackson noticed that Jaebum seemed a little out of place, and when he gave Jinyoung a look, he was pointedly ignored. 

Jackson jumped back on the front of the carriage, a slight pout in his features, “What did I do?”  
~

Over the next week, Jinyoung felt the prying questions that Jaebum held at the tip of his tongue. 

It was funny in a way, to watch this man who, a few weeks ago, had scared him so dearly with just a smooth glare. But that glare had slowly melted away, and even though Jaebum never breeched anything more than small talk, they had a familiarity that made them comfortable around each other. They were succumbed to a peaceful and professional relationship, and even though they saw each other every single day, it wasn’t until this week that Jinyoung saw any form of interest past what they did that evening and what they are doing today from the older man. 

Especially this evening, where they sat across from each other, eating diligently. The man was slower in his movements, and Jinyoung, keeping a close eye on him, tensed up every time he took a pause. 

When finally, finally he spoke, he put down his fork and thought for a moment. Jinyoung could practically hear him mulling over the words in his head before speaking in a guarded tone, “So, you’re… close, with Chanyeol?”

Jinyoung swallowed his soup slowly, digesting the final draft of his words, having had the opportunity to think over his words carefully. “We have worked together before, while he was at the University. We were professional acquaintances.”

Upon hearing this, Jaebum nodded, and returned to his dessert. Jinyoung, thankful for the almost immediate reaction of acknowledgement, relaxed again, turning to his food and thinking of a change of subject.

It was short lived, however, when Jaebum opened his mouth first. 

“The way you guys talked was interesting.” He said without looking up, “The way he interacted with you… It seemed… A bit friendly.”

Jinyoung almost dropped his fork at this statement. There was an edge to his voice, almost a bite. But now as he studied him, there was no indication in his movements to the hostility that was in his words, as he slowly and methodically ate his fruit.

The way he had said it was slight, but it made Jinyoung stomach turn. The simple implication that him and Chanyeol were anything more then friends, or even the reminder that those thoughts were in the mans’ mind at one point made him shut down. He had no idea how to respond.

His throat closed up, not knowing how to counter the statement. And honestly the embarrassment of his reaction came just as quickly as the previous one; much to his chagrin, he felt the tears well up from the thoughts going through his head. 

At this realization, he knew he had to leave. He stood abruptly, fumbling out some lame excuse of being tired and turned his head away first when leaving the room so the older man would not see his eyes. 

He rushed back to his room, darting through the halls as his mind went through every interaction today, leading up to his movements now. He couldn’t believe how sensitive he was being. He wondered how his feelings could be so easily hurt by just a few ill-mentioned words, but it did not matter. 

Of all the things that could have happened that day, Jaebum’s complete lack of understanding of the situation was the one that hurt the most. The situation that he should have understood that Chanyeol was an unwelcome presence in his life, that he was the one person that should not have any access to any information on Jinyoungs personal life; the situation that he had no idea how his image and relationship to the Lord could be portrayed to the men in that council room— the very ones who tried to use Jinyoung for other purposes than he wanted. 

Jinyoung felt ashamed that Jaebums very tone and wording could hurt him so much. That his indications could make him feel so dirty without saying barely more than a sentence. He did not deserve that— to be humiliated in front of the man who drove him out of a job and ruined his chances anywhere else, and then looked down upon when his current employer saw the interaction between the two while barely batting an eye. 

How foolish could Jinyoung had been to assume that Jaebum would pick up on the hints that Jinyoung was afraid? How Foolish was Jinyoung to believe that Jaebum would comfort him in any way? Jaebum never showed any interest towards him unless it was for his own personal gain. 

He closed his door quickly, letting out a sob as it clicked shut. His outfit felt like it was choking him now, the neckpiece a great nuisance as his throat expanded with his emotions, and he fumbled to untie it, along with removing the rest of the unneeded clothing before climbing into his bed. 

He lay on his bed for less than a few minutes before sleep overcame him, and only one thought rang clear through his mind before he succumbed.

_How could he?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its so funny how that one interaction with chanyeol on master key has him being like the number one "other man" for jinyoung in fics lately. i actually love chanyeol, but his tallness and impish looks makes it easy to make him the bad guy kskkssks
> 
> i want to thank monikirogers on twitter for giving me the juice i need to finish this chapter. it was sitting at about 1800 words for a while, but i gained the strength to finish it from her kind words and encouragement.
> 
> let me know if you guys like the direction this is going. i only have a vague outline in my head, so really this can go anywhere. thanks for reading!!!


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